419th Hunger Games--a Mash-up in the Hunger Games
by gracegrrl007
Summary: You guys know how I have a history of publishing mash-up books? Well. Here's another one. Anyways... When 24 tributes, a bunch of scary-realistic-humanlike muttations, and two slightly-insane Gamemakers combine, what can you get but the craziest Hunger Games Panem has seen in a while? Relationships form, devotions are tested, and in the end, only the strongest will survive. Collab.
1. Chapter 1

Because every mash-up needs a prologue.

So, this is originally a role-play done by me and LOLIMMACAT (AKA my friend Chloe), but it's so cool that I'm turning it into a story. It involves characters from Asura Cryin', Warriors (cats in human form), Guardians of Ga'hoole (an owl in human form), The iDOLM STER, Idolmaster: Xenoglossia, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Carribean, OCs, and Lord of the Rings (phew!).

All-in-all, it's a huge mash-up of characters from whatever we wanted in the Hunger Games.

Warning: Me and Chloe have dirty minds. These will be perverted Games. Veeery perverted Games. In addition, this both of our first times working with Hunger Games, so we're a little...inexperienced? Yeah.

And some characters will likely be very OOC at times. Particularly Karasu. But hey...no one watches that show so no one will know the difference. XD

Please enjoy.


	2. Reapings

**Author's Note: Asura Cryin', The iDOLM STER, and Idolmaster: Xenoglossia worlds done by me.**

**Lord of the Rings, Animal, and Leftovers worlds done by LOLIMMACAT/Chloe.**

**Enjoy!**

Asura Cryin'-Tributes: Kurosaki Shuri/Yukari, Saeki Reishirou, and Susugihara Yoh

Shuri Kurosaki yawned loudly. "Hunger Games," she muttered to herself. "A reaping for the Hunger Games. What does that even mean, you try to make your opponent as hungry as possible?"  
Next to her, Yoh Susugihara smiled. "It's a fight to the death," she informed her friend. "There's no hunger involved but the hunger for blood."  
"I wasn't asking you," Shuri snapped. She sighed. "Fight to the death...sounds like fun."  
"I'm sure you'll be great, so don't worry," Yoh assured her. "It's you, after all."  
Shuri sniffed. "Whatever, kid, just don't get in my way," she hissed. "Hey, who's that guy?"  
Yoh turned and together, the two watched a man with green hair and sparkling silver eyebrows walk onto the stage.  
"Welcome to the Hunger Games!" he called. "Or rather, welcome to the reaping! Let's start with the traditional speech, shall we?" The man instantly went into a detailed description of the Games up to this point. Shuri fiddled with the neckline of her dress, bored.  
"You look lovely," Yoh whispered to her. "Did I tell you that?"  
"Shut up, kid," Shuri sighed. She shifted.  
The man then finished his speech. "Now, moving on...let us choose the tributes from this world!" He reached into a globe and pulled out a slip of paper. "Kanade Takatsuki!"  
Shuri flung her hand in the air. "I volunteer!" she yelled, strolling confidently onto the stage before the reaped girl could even take a step. "'Sup."  
"...hello," the man greeted. Shrugging, he drew another name. "Yoh Susugihara!"  
_Her? ...Well. This should be fun, _Shuri thought to herself, watching the short-blonde-haired girl walk calmly onstage to take her place beside Shuri, a smile on her face.  
One last time, the man thrust his hand into the globe and drew out a paper. "Reishirou Saeki!"  
The mentioned young man blinked, then shrugged and slowly made his way to the stage. He cast a glare at Shuri and Yoh, and then shifted awkwardly.  
The man put a hand on his and Shuri's shoulders and looked happily at Yoh. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Asura Cryin' tributes!"

Lord of the Rings-Tributes: Selob (and Maria), Frodo Baggins, and Legolas Greenleaf

Another man with purple and gold dreadlocks with a rainbow colored zebra print shirt and pants walked on stage. "Hello, I am the announcer for Middle Earth," he said in a small voice. "I'll just, um." He reached into the globe, for which he had to use as tool, since he was hobbit-sized. "The first person is... She... Sheeloob... Shelob?" he said.

Samwise Gamgee's mouth fell open. "Are you serious?!" he said, looking at his other hobbit friend, Frodo Baggins. He looked around, as soon as he turned his head, the giant spider the size of two SUV's came walking up, drool, or venom, Sam didn't know, dripping from her fangs.

The small man in the zebra print whimpered at the sight of her. "A s-s-spider?" he said, his eyes widening. Shelob hissed, which could've been talking to her. A young girl was riding on the spider's back.

"Hello, I'm Maria, I'm Shelob's translator." she said.

"I g-guess you two can go together." said the man.

Maria smiled. "Well, Sheldon, you should get back to calling out the names." she said. Sheldon nodded and got back up to his stool. He put his hand into the boy's globe.

"F-Frodo Baggins." he called. Frodo looked at Samwise.

"Looks like another adventure..." Sam said.

Frodo sadly nodded. "See you on the other side, bro," said Frodo, shaking hands with Sam. Then, he walked up to the stage, steering clear of the gigantic spider.

"Legolas Greenleaf!" Sheldon called. A tall blonde elf stood up, his long blonde hair falling from his shoulders.

"That would be me." he said, tucking in his bow and arrow behind his back.

"N-no weapons please." said Sheldon. Legolas frowned and reluctantly gave his bow to a dark haired elf beside him. He walked up to the stage beside Frodo. "A-And w- with that, ladies and g-gentleman, I g-give you th-the Middle Earth t-tributes."

Idolmaster: Xenoglossia-Tributes: Minase Iori, Karasu, Saku Hibki, and Kikuchi Makoto

Makoto Kikuchi sighed loudly. _This is stupid, _she thought to herself. _Why the heck are we wearing such fancy clothes if we're just gonna get picked to go die?_ _Not that I'll die, of course._ She looked up to the stage, and to the black-haired woman on it. She flicked at her long bangs and glared down at the assembled people with her golden eyes.  
"Alright. Let's get this over with. You all know the history of the Games, right?" the woman muttered.  
"Yes," the people droned.  
"Then I'll skip the stupid speech. Ladies first." She dipped her hand into a small globe and drew out a slip of paper. "Iori Minase!"  
Makoto watched her rival step slowly onto the stage, her eyes wide and frightened. Makoto smirked. _  
Weakling. I'll crush her before she even has a chance to make a kill._  
The woman pulled out another paper. "Haruka Amami!"  
_Amami? No. No way. _"I volunteer."  
The woman looked down at her, gold eyes locking with blue. Then she sniffed loudly. "Fine. Get up here." Taking her time, Makoto walked onto the stage and shot Iori a challenging glare. The woman reached into a different globe and pulled out two names at once.  
"Joseph Shingetsu-"  
"Hibiki Saku!" someone interrupted. "...is what you should have said. I'll be taking...'dear' Joseph's place."  
"In other words, you volunteer."  
"Yes." The man called Hibiki walked on stage confidently.  
"Karasu...yeah. Karasu."  
The Turiavita boy smirked, obviously delighted, and stepped lightly onto the stage, his hand on his hip.  
"My, my," he sighed, "what a bit of...'bad luck'. Looks like I'll be forced to kill you all."  
Makoto resisted the urge to punch him.  
The woman looked out over the assembled people. "The Idolmaster: Xenoglossia tributes."

Animal World-Tributes: Hawkfrost, Firestar, and Gylfie

A woman with a cat-ears headband and a tail attached to her black sparkly dress walked up. "You all know the speech and stuff, so I'm gonna skip to the reaping." she said. She dipped her hand in the bowl. "Hawkfrost!" she called out.

A young man with icy blue eyes and short, dark brown hair stood up. A series of knives were hanging at his sides.

_ This is so stupid. I'm gonna win anyways, they should just crown me victor to make this a whole lot easier._ he thought. He walked up to the stage. The lady dipped her hand in the bowl again.

"Sandstorm!" she called out. A voice sounded from in the audience.

"I volunteer!" it called out. A man with orange hair stood up beside a dirty blonde woman, who was tugging at his sleeve and saying something to him. He looked down at Sandstorm and shook his head and walked up to the stage. Hawkfrost glared at him. "My name is Firestar." said the orange-haired man.

"Interesting name." says the lady in the black dress.

"Thank you." said Firestar, dipping his head.

"Last person... Gylfie!" she called out. A young girl stood up. She was wearing a brown dress with white spots.

"Be right there." she says in a British accent. She made her way around two rows of people and walked up to the stage, fiddling with her thumbs.

"And that is all for the Animal World!" calls out the lady.

The iDOLM STER-Tributes: Hibiki Ganaha, Touma Amagase, Ryo Akizuki, Miki Hoshii, and Shouta Mitarai  
The woman onstage was way too peppy for Touma Amagase's tastes. He would have preferred a darker, calmer Escort, but this woman? This peppy blonde woman? No. Touma Amagase did not approve.  
"Hi everyone!" she squeaked, in a voice that sounded way too happy for someone who was about to send kids to their deaths. "OK! So! First I have to, like, tell y'all a speech, 'kay? The first Hunger Games started when..."  
And so it went on. Touma groaned and looked over at his companions; Shouta Mitarai and Hokuto Ijuuin. Hokuto was staring flirtatiously at the escort and Shouta had been successfully bored to tears-literally.  
Touma had almost fallen asleep when the speech and the video stopped. The Escort, who Touma had heard was named Fairilee Higgins, reached into the girls' bowl. "The first tribute is...Hibiki Ganaha!" she cheered.  
The black-haired Okinawan idol let out a cry of disbelief and yelled desperately at her teammates to make them let her stay. A couple of Peacekeepers grabbed her around the arms and dragged her onstage.  
Fairilee clicked her tongue. "Sorry, dearie. But that's just how it has to go! Next female tribute...Miki Hoshii!"  
The lazy blonde walked onstage reluctantly, yawned, and looked fearfully at Hibiki, who was bawling her eyes out. The crying girl wiped her eyes and sniffled loudly, then looked at Miki and smiled. Fairilee moved on to the boys.  
"The male tributes will be...Ryo Akizuki!"  
The mentioned boy almost immediately broke down. His cousin, who Touma knew as Ritsuko Akizuki, raised her hand as though she would volunteer, but Ryo quickly stopped her, said a few words, and then composed himself and went to the stage, sniffling. Fairilee cast him a sympathetic glance and then drew another name.  
"Shouta Mitarai!"  
Touma blinked. _What? Shouta? ...he's dead. That poor kid is so dead..._ To his surprise, though, Shouta looked cool and confident as he strolled onto the stage, hands folded behind his head in a relaxed manner. He smiled at the crying Hibiki and ruffled Ryo's hair playfully, offering the older boy an encouraging smile, and then faced the audience. Touma felt himself smile proudly.  
"And lastly...Touma Amagase!"  
_Touma? ...wait a second. That's me, _Touma realized. _Alright, legs, don't fail me now._ Setting his face into a hard frown, he started off. Hokuto snapped a hand onto his shoulder as he passed.  
"Be safe, Touma-kun," the older boy warned. "And keep the kid safe too, OK?" He gestured to Shouta, still grinning like an idiot.  
"Whatever," Touma sighed. Honestly, he'd stopped caring about who lived and who died the second he'd heard the first name called. These people were idols, not fighters. And as he joined the group on the stage, Touma knew that not one of them would be returning home; himself included.  
"I give you...the iDOLM STER tributes!"

Leftovers-Tributes: Elizabeth Swan, Cody Mason, Hermione Granger, and Amber

A tall, cocky man walked onto the stage, obviously drunk, by the way he walked. Amber sat up, holding back tears from seeing all the innocent young women and men chosen to be forced to fight to their deaths. _Mostly none of them will make it out alive_, she thought_. At least I know which plants are deadly and which are safe._ She tried to think positive thoughts, which of course, wasn't working. She knew that at any second her name could get called.

"Hella everybo-hic-dy and welcome to the -hic- Hunger Games. So -hic- I'm gonna reach my -hic- hand into the bowl and -hic- pull out some names and -hic- stuff. So," he reached his hand into the bowl and pulled out a name.

_ Please don't be me please please please don't be m—_ Amber's thoughts were interrupted when the drunk man called out a name.

"Elizabeth -hic- Swan." he said. A few aisles down, a woman stood up with dirty blonde hair and pirate-like clothing. She weaved her way around people and threw her sword over to a man with a pirate hat and dreadlocks.

"Better keep that safe, Sparrow." she shouted to him. He nodded, looking down at the sword thrown at him, which had landed a few centimeters from his leg. Se walked up onto the stage. Even though she was far away, Amber could see Elizabeth's eyes searching through people, as if to see which people would make a great alliance. Finally, her eyes landed on Amber. Her eyes stayed on her for a few seconds and then began searching more people.

The drunk man, now known as Leroy, reached into to the bowl again. "Cody Mas-hic-on." he called. A guy with short blonde hair stood up and looked around, and then walked up to the stage. Leroy reached back into the bowl, still drunk lay hiccupping. "Hermione Granger -hic-" he said. A girl with long, curly, dark brown hair stood up. She had on a pink jacket and regular jeans.

_I thought that you were supposed to dress up for the reapings,_ thought Amber. Hermione walked towards the stage. Amber spotted a stick poking out of her pocket and looked at it curiously.

"Last -hic- one, guys." said Leroy. It was all slow motion for Amber as Leroy reached into the bowl and grabbed a slip of paper. He unfolded it. "Amber." he called out. Amber's heart sped up and she just sat there, trying to process what had just happened.

_ That was my name. He just called my name. This isn't happening_, she thought.

"Amber?" Leroy called out again. She looked around and saw a Peacekeeper walking towards her.

"No. No no no no no no no." she said as he walked towards her, she got up and tried to run, but the Peacekeeper grabbed her before she could move.

"He called you. You have to go up." he said. Amber tried to sit back down, but she was dragged up onto the stage, where she was kicking and screaming. She had to have five Peacekeepers drag her up there. When she was up on the stage, she sat down and tucked her head into her knees, crying.


	3. Train Rides

**A/N: Just a reminder: Asura Cryin', iDOLM STER, and Xenoglossia are me. Leftovers, Animals (who are now human) and Lord of the Rings are LOLIMMACAT/Chloe. Cody and Amber are Chloe's OCs. And: Beware of spoilers and OOC-ness throughout this whole book. Maybe a little.**

Asura Cryin'

Yoh took a seat in between Reishirou and Shuri, offering Shuri a pleasant smile and Reishirou a slightly-less-pleasant smile. She placed a slice of ham and some peas on her plate and began to eat silently. Reishirou cleared his throat. Shuri groaned in annoyance.  
"It's good," Yoh said at last. "You two should eat. You need the strength. Shuri, I'll get you a plate..."  
"Don't bother," Shuri snapped. "I'm not hungry."  
Yoh sighed. "You would know best, I suppose. I wish you wouldn't be so snappy, Shuri. An alliance would be in our best interests after all, and—"  
"I have no interest in forming an alliance with _you_," Shuri cut in. She glanced at Reishirou. "Or you, for that matter."  
"Fine by me," Reishirou muttered. "I don't need your help."  
Yoh frowned. "You two are being unreasonable," she chastised. "If you try to survive on your own you'll be dead in seconds." She glanced at Shuri. "Maybe not you, but..."  
"And who did you plan on allying with, anyways?" Shuri lashed.  
Yoh's pleasant smile returned. "Why, you, of course." She looked over at Reishirou. "Perhaps both of you?"  
"No," Shuri answered immediately. "I work alone, kid. And...hand me that ham."  
"I thought you weren't hungry."  
"I lied! Gimme the ham, Yoh!"  
"Here you are."  
"Stop looking at me like that..."  
"I'm just smiling."  
"I know! Stop it!"

Animals

Firestar looked around the train. "Very nice in here." he muttered. Hawkfrost was slumped down in a chair, throwing knives at a painting of the very first Hunger Games arena.

"Guess so..." he said. He threw another knife.

"Could you stop throwing those?" asked Firestar. Hawkfrost shook his head, and threw another one. Firestar walked over to him and pried the knives out of his hands, which turned into a fight.

"Get off of me you filthy-"

"Not until you stop throwing those knives!"

"Never!"

Firestar eventually grabbed the rest of knives, but Hawkfrost still had one, and before Firestar could get off, Hawkfrost cut his arm. "OW! That's it you little-" He put his hands around Hawkfrost's neck, choking him. Gylfie walked in with a biscuit in her hands, which she dropped as she saw the two violently fighting. She picked up her biscuit and threw it at Firestar, who turned his head and hissed, then stopped and, realizing what he was doing, got off of Hawkfrost. Gylfie stood there, terrified.

"It wasn't what it looked like," Firestar said.

"You were trying to choke him!" Gylfie said.

"I know but-" Gylfie ran off into the next room, leaving the two there. Hawkfrost rubbed his neck and sat back in his chair, and threw the last knife.

Leftovers

Amber sat in the corner of the room, rocking back and forth.

"A-Are you ok?" asked Cody, kneeling beside her.

"I don't wanna go. I wanna go home. Home to Slade. And Winter and Luna and Moss." she muttered, turning her head away from him. He nodded and got back up. He walked back over to the other tributes.

"She's fine. She just has the normal case of shock." he said to Elizabeth, who was making a knife out of bread. She nodded and tucked her hat down over her face. "Okay fine. Don't talk to me." he said.

Idolmaster: Xenoglossia  
"You're so dead."  
Iori turned, finding Makoto smirking at her, arms crossed, leaning against the wall. Iori rolled her eyes.  
"Right, and let me guess-you're gonna kill me," she muttered.  
"Hey, if you get in my way I'll have no choice."  
"Funny. Now I'm absolutely terrified."  
"Listen up, Minase," Makoto hissed, "there's no iDOL for you to hide behind this time, OK? So if you don't want to die, I suggest you stay out of my way." With that, the black-haired girl spun and headed into her private quarters.  
Karasu whistled. "Feisty. She's not bad."  
"She's stupid!" Iori lashed. "And you...get your feet off the table!"  
Karasu sighed. "Oh yes, let's just listen to whatever this little girl says, shall we?" He added a sarcastic grin and slowly removed his feet from the table. "I haven't forgotten our rivalry, you know. You'd best be out of my way, too."  
"Whatever," Iori snapped.  
"Now now, c'mon, guys!" Hibiki sighed, taking a bite of bread. "Why don't we all just calm down and eat? This can all be settled in the arena. For now, settle your differences and try not to kill each other in the train."  
"I don't take orders from _you_!" Iori yelled. "So just mind your own business!"  
Karasu clicked his tongue. "Quite a pair, you two," he murmured. "I argue that we have the most fiery females in our group."  
"Shut up, you."  
"Of course, 'milady'."  
"I-I said shut up! Don't make fun of me!"  
Karasu chuckled and then fell silent. Hibiki sighed and shook his head. Iori drank her milk, thinking long and hard about what she'd been warned.

The iDOLM STER  
"I'm going to die," Ryo announced. "You guys. I'm going to die."  
"And we're not?" Shouta laughed, throwing his arm around the boy's shoulders. "Relax, bro. We're all in an alliance together, right? So we'll help each other out. Touma-kun and Hibiki-chan can fight, right?"  
"I guess," Hibiki muttered. "I don't like this. I don't like this one bit. I had to leave my critters behind! What'll I do if I die before I can see 'em again?!"  
"Calm down," Shouta soothed. "We'll be OK. Really, guys, stop being such downers and just have fun!"  
"Miki agrees," Miki announced, taking a bite of onigiri. "Miki is tired and you guys are being loud, so Miki can't sleep. Miki is really happy they have onigiri here, though."  
Touma growled. "Shut...the he** up."  
"Touma-kun is grouchy~" Shouta yawned. "Let's just eat, 'kay~?"  
Sighing, the other members of the group began to eat. Shouta tried singing a song to cheer everyone up, but only Ryo and Miki joined in.  
Both Touma and Hibiki knew that the chances of returning were slim.

Animals, Leftovers

Gylfie ran through multiple train carts, trying to get as far away from the two men in her own cart as possible. "Those two are crazy. Trying to kill themselves before they get in the arena. I won't stand a chance." she muttered as she walked through another cart, her brown and white dress flowing behind her. She eventually reached a cart where everything seemed calm.

"What're you doing here?" said a male voice. She looked behind her. A blonde guy was staring at her.

"N-Nothing... The two guys from my world were fighting and I got scared," she muttered. "I-I'm Gylfie." she said.

"My name's Cody," he said. Gylfie smiled. "I guess you can stay in here until-" a voice boomed over the loudspeaker.

"FIVE MINUTES UNTIL WE REACH THE CAPITOL. IF YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR CARTS, I SUGGEST YOU RETURN TO YOUR OWN. THANK YOU."

"I guess until that happens... I'll see you later, Gylfie." he said. Gylfie nodded and scurried back to her own cart, looking back at Cody, who had gone to the corner of the room over to a girl in a sunset orange dress.

Leftovers

"Go away." said Amber as Cody approached her.

"Listen, I know you want to go home, but we all have it do this. Even me. And you." said Cody. Amber looked at Cody, her eyes red from crying, and looked back down.

"No."

Animals

Firestar glared at the arrogant young man. "Hawkfrost. Stop throwing those darn knives. You just made us scare that little girl." he said.

"Her name was Gylfie and I don't care." Hawkfrost muttered. Firestar rolled his eyes.

Lord of the Rings

Frodo slumped down in his chair. "I have to admit, this place is nice," he said, looking around. "Much better than what we have in Hobbiton. Speaking of, I wonder how Sam is doing. He's always eating, that Sam." He laughed. Legolas was pacing around the cart.

"The food isn't as good as Lembas Bread." he said. He picked up a butter knife and dropped it. "Not much of an arena is it?" he asked.

"Legolas, this isn't the arena. We're going to a place called the Capitol and then we're going to the arena." said Frodo.

"Ohhhhh that explains everything." Legolas says.


	4. Parade

Somewhere in a balcony sat a woman with brown hair and side-swept bangs-the Head Gamemaker, Grace Rhyne. She turned to one of her fellow Gamemakers and smiled. "The tributes this year are cute," she stated. "Look, here come the carts now. Let's use our eyes and look."

In rolled the cart holding the Asura Cryin' tributes. Yoh was in the middle in what appeared to be an ornate white suit of armor, fitted for a girl her size. She also had on a long, pale silver cape and had feathers attached to her metal boots. On her right was Shuri in much the same thing, but Shuri's armor was black and her cape purple. Instead of feathers and boots, Shuri wore the armor down to her knees and had a black gun revealed from a place on each of her shins. She waved wildly to the audience with the hand that wasn't gripped in Yoh's.  
On Yoh's left was Reishirou. The armor he wore was suited for a man, and it was a tealish color. Instead of a cape, he had a long white scarf, and instead of feathers on his boots there were chains around his ankle. His face was set in a hard frown, which provided contrast to Yoh's pleasant smile and Shuri's excited grin. His hand was also encased in Yoh's.  
Grace observed them. "They're dressed like their Asura Machina," she declared after a moment. "Well...for the most part. Shuri doesn't have one so I guess she's supposed to resemble Kurogane?" She smiled. "Clever. What do you think, Kuroi?"

Kuroi nodded. "Very clever. Oh look at that one." she said, pointing to the Animalia cart. Gylfie, who was standing in the middle, was wearing a brown feathery mask and dress, with a wings from her wrist to her armpits. The two guys who were separated from each other, were wearing furry clothing with tails and cat masks, complete with the cat ears and whiskers. "I like that cart the best." said Kuroi to Grace.

Frodo and Legolas were both wearing brown shirts with green capes and a ivy leaf brooch. Following behind it was Maria on Shelob, who was wearing a red cape, tiara, and boots with light images that projected images of spiders crawling in them. Maria was wearing a black dress with long spindly legs protruding out of the back of it and long black boots.

The Leftover Cart, which was filled with all of the tributes that didn't belong anywhere, were all wearing different outfits. Amber was wearing a beautiful sunset orange dress with small flames hopping from her shoulder. Cody was wearing a steampunk cowboy outfit. Elizabeth was wearing a sea captains outfit. Pirate hat with a long blue feather, red cape and pants, along with a sword on her hip. Hermione was wearing a pretty pink dress and her hair up in a bun.

Grace smiled. "Cute," she squealed. "They're all so cute! Look, here come the rest!"  
Sure enough, the cart holding the Idolmaster: Xenoglossia tributes was rolling in in two separate carts. In one cart was Iori and Hibiki. Hibiki wore a blue suit coat that faded to black and black dress pants. The bottoms were ever-so-slightly silver. Iori, who was completely ignoring her partner and simply waving to the audience, wore a sleeveless orange-and-gold jumpsuit with bell-bottoms, and her hair was pulled into a ponytail with a golden V-shaped device of some sort.  
The next cart held Makoto and Karasu. Karasu wore a long black robe, decorated with the occasional purple lining. A purple gem, likely an amethyst, was mounted on his collar. On his left hand was a long, fingerless glove, and on his right hand was a shorter glove. Makoto wore the uniform designed for members of Turiavita, a personal request (or rather, an order) she had made to her stylist. In other words, her shirt was dark blue with a wrapping of some sort of black sweater-y material around her abdomen. Her pants were white aside from a black covering, made of the same material as the abdominal covering, around the crotch. The pants had been tucked into a pair of stylish space-combat boots (if that makes sense). Karasu was waving half-heartedly and Makoto was ignoring the world.  
"They're hot," Grace stated bluntly, referring to the cart holding Makoto and Karasu. "...if they had babies together, they would be the sexiest things alive. My GOSH."  
Then came the iDOLM STER cart. Miki and Hibiki wore their Project Fairy costumes, Touma and Shouta their Project Jupiter costumes, and Ryo a simple T-shirt and jeans. Somehow, Grace thought it suited the group very well. She smiled.  
"It's simple but it works," she announced. "Somehow it may be the best I've seen. Nicely done."

Kuroi nodded and smiled.

Gylfie huffed. "This makes me feel stupid," she muttered. "I feel like a turkey on Thanksgiving, getting all dressed up and then getting devoured, or in this case, slaughtered."

"Come on, at least you don't look as stupid as Hawkfrost." said Firestar, nudging his head at Hawkfrost, who was waving, but not smiling. His animatronics tail was swishing like an idiot. Gylfie chuckled. Finally, they reached a stop and lined up beside all the rest of the tributes. Their cart was in the middle of the Leftovers and Middle Earth carts.

"Great, so two days after this, we get to kill each other. Wonderful." she muttered to herself.

Frodo was smiling like an idiot and waving while Legolas was just staring forward.

"I don't get the point of this. We get all dressed up and then we murder each other like a bunch of untamed Orcs." he said. Frodo looked at him.

"Seriously, Legolas? Just have some fun before you die." Frodo said. Legolas sighed.

"Oh ok." He started waving.

The Leftover cart was completely silent, due to Cody trying not to stare at Hermione and Amber just wanted to get out and run as fast as she could.

Grace sighed. "Well, I would say it's about time to head off, right? To prepare to watch the training. Hm?" She smiled. The tributes in the Xenoglossia carts were deathly silent. The iDOLM STER carts, too, were quiet. Only Yoh was even attempting to make conversation, but her fellow tributes ignored her. Eventually, the boyish-looking girl gave up and just smiled at the audience.  
Grace shrugged. "Time to go. Kuroi, let's prepare ourselves."


	5. Training

**A/N: You know that asterisks thingy I do with curse words? Yeah. I do that a lot in this book. I'm sure you people reading this will have noooo problem figuring the words out. I blame American culture.**

Reishirou sighed, strolling along into the training room. "This is stupid," he muttered. "Come train just so you can give yourself a false sense of security. The reality is, 23 out of the 24 people in this room are going to _die_ out there."  
"You're so sour," Yoh sighed. "I suppose it doesn't concern me. Shuri...and Reishirou, if you need me I'll be at the swords practicing."  
"Swords?" Shuri echoed. "Oh, right! Katana. I forgot you knew how to use a katana."  
"I assume the two of you will be shooting things?"  
Reishirou nodded. "It's all I can do now," he reminded her, looking sadly down at his hand, marked with the symbol of an ex-Handler. Yoh's smile faded.  
"...I understand," she murmured. "Really."  
Reishirou forced himself to smile just in the slightest bit. "That's right. You're an ex-Handler too."  
"Just a katana in this arena for me."  
"Of course."  
"Whatever," Shuri sighed. "I'm gonna go shoot stuff with my body! This is gonna be awesome!"

"Just form an alliance with me."  
"No."  
"We were in Turiavita together before. What's the difference?"  
"I didn't join Turiavita for you."  
"Then, why did you?"  
"I have my reasons."  
"And they are...?"  
"Shut up and leave me alone. I don't work on a team, OK?"  
Karasu sighed, his efforts to "woo" Makoto being continually squashed. "Look, I know you aren't used to working with others. But you did volunteer to be tribute after all. Obviously you want to be here."  
"I volunteered to spare Amami," Makoto muttered. "Nothing more."  
"Just join the alliance, kid. The strong have to bind together if we want to survive."  
Makoto threw another knife at the target, hitting a little off-center. She sighed. "You're breaking my concentration."  
"Then you'll join me."  
"OK, you know what?!" Makoto suddenly whirled angrily on the young man and held her knife to his neck .Karasu raised an eyebrow at her, placed a hand on his hip, and smiled in a playful way. Makoto narrowed her eyes in fury. "You! Listen here, and listen good! I work alone. I am _not_, under any circumstances, going to join up in an alliance of any kind with anybody. And I couldn't care _less_ that we worked together. If you get in my way in the arena, I will _kill you_."  
Karasu chuckled. "You really are a feisty one," he sighed. "It's kind of attractive, actually."  
"Shut up."  
"Fine, fine, I'll leave you alone," the black-haired boy sighed. "But when we cross paths in the arena, don't be surprised when I kill you."  
Makoto snorted and removed her knife from against his throat. "Just get out of here."  
"Whatever you say...Makoto."

Shouta and Miki yawned simultaneously. "I'm bored," Shouta sighed.  
"Miki too," Miki moaned.  
"Then practice something," Touma ordered, bending by the plant station. "Shouta. Go work on some kind of strength thing. You'll need it."  
"Mean!" Shouta accused. "Touma-kun, that was mean!"  
"I'm serious."  
"Fine, but don't expect-"  
"Makoto-san!"  
Shouta broke off at the sound of Ryo's voice. The older boy beamed excitedly and pointed to a girl at the knife-chucking station.  
"Look! It's Makoto-san! What is she doing here? I'm going to say hello."  
"That ain't our Makoto," Hibiki warned. "Ya might wanna stay here, kiddo."  
"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be happy to see me," Ryo replied pleasantly. "I'll be right back, you guys." Before anyone else could warn him, he was off. He practically skipped over to the shorter girl and tapped her shoulder.  
"What do you want?"  
Ryo blinked. "Makoto-san, that is you, right?" he asked.  
The girl turned. "Yeah. What's it to you?"  
"It's me. Ryo."  
Makoto raised her eyebrow.  
"Ryo Akizuki? You helped train me for an audition once."  
Makoto blinked, shook her head and turned back to her knife-chucking.  
Ryo frowned. "Makoto-san, we should form an alliance. I think it would be helpful..."  
"I work alone, kid. Get out of here before I stab you."  
Ryo gulped. _This girl...is definitely not my Makoto-san. But still... _"I'll handle all the knowledge stuff, like edible plants and knot-tying," Ryo continued. "And if you could handle the fighting part, I think we would make a good team."  
"I said, I work alone."  
"I won't give up on you," Ryo said firmly. "You aren't the Makoto Kikuchi-san I know, that's for sure. But I still think that if we could team up, then things would go well. Please consider it. I won't let you down."  
Makoto sighed. "Just go back to your group."  
"Then I'll see you in the arena. Goodbye, Makoto-san!"  
"I said...!" Makoto broke off. Ryo was already back with his group. She watched him for a while. A small smile crept onto her lips. "You're persistent, kid. I'll give you that much." She chuckled. "See you in the arena."

Amber slowly walked into the training room. "Ok, so I know how to do all the nature stuff, like plants and how to start a fire... Let's try bows." she muttered, walking over to the bow and arrow station. She grabbed a bow and a couple of arrows. They spilled out of her hand, making a lot of noise.

"Oh gosh. Um…" She picked them up and put a few back, leaving one, and loaded it into the bow. She pulled back the string and closed one eye and focused on the target. She released the arrow and it flew towards the target, hitting the center. Amber stood straight, approvingly. She put down the bow and moved to the climbing course, where she skillfully climbed up to the top and started spying on people.

Hawkfrost was eyeing her from across the room at the knife-throwing station, where he was juggling three knives with one hand. He threw one without looking at the center, getting a bull's-eye. "I'll have to try and remember what her name is. She's going my list of people to out on the alliance." he muttered. He silently walked over to where Firestar was training at plant identification, his bright green eyes were quickly moving from one plant to another. Hawkfrost smirked. _He might be useful. Along with that girl. I'll just call her Sunset for now,_ he thought. He threw another knife, accidentally getting it in Makoto's target. He walked over. "Sorry bout that." he said, and tugged the knife out of the top of the target.

Over in another corner, Cody was practicing with swords and knives. He slashed his sword across his fake opponent's chest and stabbed it In the heart. Cody smiled and pulled the sword out of the dummy.

"I at least hope I won't be one of the first people killed." he said to himself.

"I highly doubt it, considering you don't have that much skill." came a voice from behind him. Cody whirled around, pointing his sword in Elizabeth's face. "Watch where you're pointing that thing. You could kill someone before we get in the arena." she said, taking the blade and pointing it back downwards. Cody sneered.

"What do you care?" he asked.

"Because I'm one of the people hoping to survive one night." she said. The force of her words felt like she had slapped him. Cody rolled his eyes and continued killing the dummy. Elizabeth glared at him and took a sword and stabbed the dummy straight in the heart and twirled the blade around, ripping the rubber that the dummy was made of, and walked away.

Frodo walked around. "Nice place we have here." he said, observing the people at the weaponry area. Legolas wandered over to the bow and arrow section, repeatedly loading arrows and firing them at the center, getting bull's-eyes every time. Frodo walked over to the fire starting area and knelt down, grabbing two sticks. He rubbed them together, creating a heat source, and then placed it on a dead leaf, and a small flame hopped up and crackled. The curly haired Hobbit smiled at his success.

Karasu sat back and observed the group, playing absentmindedly with a small length of rope at the knot-tying station. "Hm. That Animalia kid is good," he commented, watching Hawkfrost. "The Asura Cryin' girls are both pretty good too. I don't know about the boy. I think Hibiki could be useful for strategy. That girl with the sword. The girl at bows looks...weak-willed. The boy? Not bad." Nodding decisively, he stood and wandered over to Hawkfrost, not realizing he had managed to tie a strong-looking knot in the rope, and frankly not caring.

Makoto looked over and cast a glance at Hawkfrost. "Whatever," she muttered. "Just don't get in my way." She turned and stalked off towards the obstacle course. Karasu had soon taken her spot.  
"Greetings," he chimed, smiling darkly at Hawkfrost. "Well, you're not bad with those knives, are you? If they allowed me I'd shoot every last one of these people." He gestured to Shuri. "Kind of like her." The Asura Cryin' tribute had unloaded guns from almost every part of her body and now simply stood firing them in random directions. It wasn't long before a trainer approached her and forced her to put the guns back. Grumbling, the young woman agreed and Karasu, off in the distance, chuckled.  
"In any case...I'm not looking to form an alliance for my own gain," he continued, watching everyone, it seemed, but Hawkfrost, whom he was speaking to. "Rather, for the good of us as a whole. A team is stronger than a single unit. That's something you learn after years of working on one." He cast a glance at Hawkfrost to see if he followed him.

"So it's agreed. We're an alliance."  
"Every last one o' us?"  
"Except for me, Hibiki-san. I've already formed a tentative alliance with Makoto-san but I'm sure all of you could stick with us."  
"That Makoto-kun scares Miki."  
"I like you guys more than everyone else here~ We should all stick together and be happy friends."  
"Shouta. This is the Hunger Games. _No one _is happy, and no one is friends."  
"...that stinks. They shouldn't do that."  
The idols sighed. "_This_ stinks," Hibiki corrected. "I wanna go home. I wanna go home, I wanna go home, and I don't wanna die, and someone please help."  
"We're not going home, OK?!" Touma snapped. "Not one of us in this group is going home! No matter how much we want to. Because we're not fighters!"  
Shouta stood slowly and stared down at Touma, a hint of anger in his gaze. "You can say that, Touma-kun," he replied evenly, "but if you do then you'll die in the bloodbath without even getting three seconds of time in the arena. I don't know about you guys, but I want to try. Even if it's hopeless."  
Touma stared up at him and smiled slightly. "You don't give up, do you?"  
"Nope~!"  
"Fine. Get yourself killed. Fill yourself with false hope. But leave me out of it."

"OK~. Hey, let's go try out the swords."

Shuri laughed. "Did ya see that, guys? I got in trouble for almost killing people. Look at this, we aren't even in the arena and I've already almost killed people!"  
"I knew you'd do great here," Yoh commented, thrusting her sword into the center of the dummy's throat. "I'm just concerned for the rest of us."  
"You should be," Shuri replied proudly. "Watch. The second we reach the arena I'll be crowned victor."  
"Don't get cocky, Shuri Kurosaki," Reishirou warned. "I don't plan on losing so-"  
"And," Shuri broke in, "You two have the honor of being killed first. Doesn't that sound great?"  
"You're being selfish." Yoh practically hissed, re-inserting the point of her sword into the dummy's brain. She slowly pulled the blade downwards until she had a nice, sliced-in-half dummy in front of her. "Shuri. I don't want to hurt you, but I'm not going to die in that arena. Do you understand?"  
"Well, I'm sure as he** not losing either!" Shuri laughed.  
"We'll see about that," Reishirou lashed. The three of them continued to squabble, Karasu looking on in interest from his place with Hawkfrost by the knives.  
"An interesting bunch, don't you think?" he commented to his "companion". "Cute. They're already fighting and it's just the first day of training."

Hawkfrost looked at Karasu, who was speaking to him. _You don't know when to  
shut up, do you, _ he thought. "Yes. I was thinking of forming my own  
alliance. I was thinking of having her-" he pointed towards Amber. "-him,-"  
he pointed to Firestar. "-and I could probably use those two." He nodded  
towards Elizabeth and Cody, who were sword fighting each other. "If you  
plan on surviving, I suggest you take a strategic, a nerd, a fighter, and a  
hunter. Including yourself. And if you plan on killing me later, well," he  
laughed slightly and then turned serious again. "Just don't get on my bad  
side," he said, and left it at that, then started walking towards the  
strength area and tossed a few 35 pound weights at a dummy's head, knocking  
it clean off.

Firestar was, of course, at the areas he felt most comfortable with, like  
fire-starting and plant identification. But after he had finished that, he  
went out of his comfort zone and was starting to try knife combat. He  
picked up a knife and chucked it at the dummy and failed horribly. He  
sighed and walked over to pick the knife back up.

"You should try focusing on where you're aiming," came a voice from behind him. He spun around. It was Gylfie.

"You know a lot about aiming things." he said.

Gylfie smiled a bit and nodded. "I study owls a lot and figure out their patterns of catching things." she said.

Firestar chuckled a bit. "I wish they hadn't chosen you to fight. I wouldn't want anyone killing such a smart girl." He said. Gylfie twirled her dress.

"Thanks. My name's Gylfie by the way."  
"Firestar."

"It's nice to finally know your name."

"Yours too."

Cody slashed at Elizabeth, who deflected the sword. "You have to try and  
outsmart your enemy. Not by doing any fancy cartwheels and s***. Backflips  
are good, but only if you're on a moving platform." she suggested. Cody  
slashed at her again but she had dodged. "Try outsmarting me." she said  
again.

"Well, that'll be easy since you're blonde."

Elizabeth glared at Cody and slashed at him with such force that they both fell to the ground. Cody's sword skittered across the floor and Elizabeth had him pinned down  
with her sword against his throat.

"If we had been in the arena if this happened, I would've killed you. It's a shame we're not, because I would have _loved_ to kill you right now." She got up and walked away with the sword still in her hand.

"Every single girl I meet either wants to kill me, or we both have to die," Cody muttered.

Amber was sitting in a high part of the training area, up near the roof and  
watched Cody and Elizabeth fight. Then came the intense part. Amber sat up  
and watched curiously, wondering what they were saying. She saw Elizabeth  
get up and walk away. Amber stood up and slowly climbed down the rope,  
watching for any signs of hostile-looking people coming towards her. She  
looked over in the direction of the Asura Cryin' tributes and quickly  
looked away.

Hermione sat in a corner. She already knew how to do everything in here.  
And, if she could get her wand past the security before you go into the  
Games, she would be perfectly fine. She had everything planned out.

She would find a few trees next to a pond, if there was one, and set her  
sleeping bag up one. Then, after scouting out the area, she would set up a  
force field spell and set up a fire. Along with some food.

Frodo walked along the place, looking at everyone and how they were  
training. _I wonder if I'll be in an alliance._ he thought. He picked up a  
sword. "I remember my sword, Sting. Very nice sword. But this one is too  
weird." he said, throwing the sword to the ground again.  
Legolas sat in a corner mumbling about how the bows had "betrayed" him and  
were now made of metal instead of wood. "Wood bows are much more  
comfortable. And longer lasting. Metal can rust and can break too  
easily..." he mumbled.

Karasu frowned. _Geez, why is everyone so dead-set against being in an  
alliance with me?_ he thought wretchedly. Absentmindedly, he pulled a  
gun from a holster on his belt and shot at the target over his  
shoulder, hitting dead-center. He tucked it back and wandered away  
towards Shuri. "You."  
The glasses-clad girl whirled on him. "What?!"  
"Alliance or I shoot you. I'm getting impatient, and you won't like me  
when I'm impatient."  
Shuri smiled slightly. "I like your style. I don't need your help though, so—"  
"I will make a noose and hang you with it."  
"…'Kay. Alliance it is," Shuri laughed. "As long as you promise not to  
get in my way."  
"Don't worry, I have a strategy all figured out. Just stick with me,"  
Karasu advised.  
"Who else?"  
Karasu blinked. "What?"  
"Who else is in the alliance?" Shuri elaborated. She picked up a bow,  
then put it back down upon realizing she had no clue how to use a bow.  
"Me," announced Hibiki Saku. He shrugged. "Right?"  
"Fine by me," Karasu sighed. "Then we're done."

Miki walked over to Amber, smiling. "Hi, nano," she greeted. "Miki is  
named Miki Hoshii. Who are you?"

Amber smiled and waved. "My name's Amber," she said. "Are you in an alliance yet? I'm not, sadly." She tucked her hair behind her ears and moved her bangs aside.

Miki yawned. "Afuu~...yeah, Miki is in an alliance with the other people who do Miki stuff like Miki. It's gonna be fun. Hey, don't die out there, OK? Miki said not to." The blonde girl waved and smiled, then set off to the climbing station and started to climb.

Yoh finished up at the obstacle course, settling happily on the ground. "That was fun," she murmured.  
"Not bad."  
Yoh turned. Standing not far away was the girl known as Iori Minase.  
"I counted. You were faster than that Makoto," she commented.  
"I've been told I'm very agile," Yoh replied.  
"...but I'm still going to crush you."  
Yoh blinked. Then she shrugged. "Maybe so."  
"Hmph! Such a submissive girl. Aren't you scared?" Iori asked.  
"Not at all," Yoh admitted. She smiled.  
Iori sighed. "Whatever." She turned and walked to the strength  
training. Yoh watched the girl chuck a few weights around before she stood and headed to the plants station.

Firestar looked over his shoulder at the sound of a gun being used, and then looked back to what he was doing. When he was finished, he walked over to the obstacle course and raced through it.

Hawkfrost watched Firestar zoom through the course. "He might be useful..." he muttered.

Gylfie skipped around playfully and went to the knife throwing section, where she picked up a knife, examined it, and chucked it with all her force at the dummy, which landed in its head. She smiled approvingly. "I guess I'm all set to go." she said, cracking her fingers.

Elizabeth walked over to the pant identification. "I never really bothered with plants... I guess it couldn't do much harm to start now." she muttered to herself. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Hermione sitting in a corner, fiddling with something. 'I wonder what that is.' she thought.

Hibiki Ganaha approached the plant station. "Yo," she greeted Elizabeth. "I'm just gonna check out these planty things, then I'll be outta your way." She studied for a few minutes, then nodded decisively and headed off. "Bye."

Elizabeth stared at Hibiki the entire time she was there, judging whether or not to kill her within the first day. _She looks skilled. She might make it through one night, at least,_ she thought. Then, she continued studying.

Cody huffed and sat down. "One more hour and then we get to go to our rooms." he sighed. His arm was hurting from his fight with Elizabeth. He glanced up at the ceiling and lay back.

"Are you ok?" came a voice. He looked up. A small man with curly hair was staring at him with bright blue eyes.

"Woah. I mean, um, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just tired." he answered.

"I'm Frodo." The other boy said.

"Cody."

"Nice name."

"Thanks. I should get back to, uh, training." said Cody.

Frodo nodded. "Me too, I guess."

Legolas wandered around the place some more and found the bow and arrow section again and released a few arrows.

Amber was pacing near Hermione, anxiously waiting for her name to be called. Cody looked over at the brown-haired girl and frowned a bit. _She seems really tense. I hope someone puts her in an alliance. I might be in one, if that Hawkfrost kid seems interested in taking me in,_ he thought.  
"All tributes, please return to your rooms," boomed a voice. "Training is now over."


	6. Judging

Grace looked over at Kuroi. "Time to judge the tributes," she remarked. "IIIIIIII'm excited." She smiled stupidly. "Who's first?"

Kuroi looked at Grace. "Well, maybe that Makoto girl should go first," she suggested. She looked down at all the people below. "She shows some potential. And tomorrow, the announcements will be made, and then the Games will begin." she said happily.

Grace nodded. "Then, Xenoglossia tributes will go first. Call 'em in!" After a moment, Makoto Kikuchi entered the room, blue eyes frozen in an eternal glare. She glanced at the Gamemakers. Grace waved and blew a kiss.  
"She gets a twelve just 'cause she's hot," the Head Gamemaker stated. "Just kidding. Let's see what she can do."  
Makoto wandered around the training room, seemingly unsure of what to do. After a moment, she picked up a couple knives and chucked them at targets, managing a couple bull's-eyes. Then she walked over to a group of dummies, bared her teeth in a snarl, and, with a cry, simply leapt upon the creations and attacked using her bare hands (or shoed feet). By the time her time had ended, the dummies had been shredded to bits. The girl stalked off, fists clenched. Grace allowed herself to smile.  
Next was Iori Minase. The first thing the girl did was go to the weights and lift a 50-pounder. Grunting with the effort, she hurled the heavy object at a recently-replaced dummy, hitting it square in the chest. Next she headed for the obstacle course and completed it in an average time. Her time finished and she flashed the Gamemakers a smile before leaving.  
She was soon replaced by Hibiki. The tall man whistled a tune and casually threw some knives like darts at the target, getting bull's-eyes almost every time. Still whistling, he walked over to the camouflage station and turned himself into a bush, then his time ran out and he left.  
Next was Karasu. The young man wandered in slowly, gave the Gamemakers a bow, then pulled out a gun and shot some dummies over his shoulder while one-handedly tying a small knot. When he finished shooting the dummies, he used both hands to make a noose and casually slipped it over a dummy's neck, then picked up a sword and practically threw it into the dummy's chest. He stepped back to admire his work, and for  
the rest of his time just shot more stuff.  
"He's hot," Grace said. "Not a bad group. OK. Leftovers next?"

Kuroi's mouth dropped. "He was good. I think he might have a chance of surviving," she said, tearing her gaze off of Karasu. "Right, I'll call them out." She walked over to a microphone.  
Cody walked in nervously. _Keep it together, Cody, you're being evaluated. Keep it cool. Ok, knives. Go,_ he thought. He walked over to the knife station and turned to look at the Gamemakers, then looked back, and threw a few knives and got a couple bull's-eyes, the others were lodged in the side of the dummy or its brain. After he was done, he turned to the Gamemakers again, bowed, and left.  
Next was Elizabeth. She walked in with her arms folded. She headed straight for the swords. She picked up a sword and started slashing away at the dummy, leaving deep score marks in the throat and head. Then she stabbed it in the heart and twisted the sword, which would've killed a person that had survived the first strike. She nodded at the Gamemakers and left.  
Amber walked in and looked around. _Um, what am I good at? Oh, I know. Plants!_ she thought. She jogged over to the plant area and started identifying plants as soon as they appeared on a screen. She started saying the names if the plants as she popped up. A minute later, the screen turned off, signaling that she had went through all the plants. She looked at Kuroi and Grace. Kuroi gave a slight nod and Amber walked out.  
Next up was Hermione. She walked up to the plant area and identified them all, after that, she walked over to the obstacle course and managed to get through with an average time. She waved to the Gamemakers and left. "She was good. She might make it for a day and a half," said Kuroi to Grace. "I'll get the Middle Earth tributes." She walked over to the microphone and called out a name.

Frodo walked out and smiled. Kuroi's mouth gaped open. "Look how blue his eyes are. I can see them from here and he's all the way over there." she said.

Frodo walked over to the sword station and slashed at the dummy. He left soon after.

"It's a shame he didn't do much more. He was cute." said Kuroi. She was drawing a map of the new arena. "Legolas!" she called on the microphone.

Legolas walked in, still completely oblivious, and went over to the bow and arrow station and got bull's-eyes. On the last arrow he shot, he split one of the arrows in the middle. He just stood there as if it didn't matter. He looked around and blinked. "Am I done?" he asked. Kuroi nodded and gave a 'shoo' sign with her hand. Legolas turned around and walked out.  
"Next issss... Shelob the spider. Before the Games start, I'll inform the tributes not to kill Maria." she said. She called Shelob's name over the microphone and a giant spider came crawling out of the door. "I wonder what she's gonna do." said Kuroi.

A few seconds later, Shelob started biting the dummies and after she bit them, there was an almost transparent green fluid flowing from the dummy's necks. Kuroi nodded curiously. Then, the monstrosity reared up and leapt on top of the dummy and pierced it multiple times with her front legs. "I think that's all of them." said Kuroi, continuing with her map.

Grace whistled approvingly. "Not bad," she commented. "OK! Asura Cryin'!"

The first one to enter was Shuri. Immediately upon entering, the voluptuous woman un-zipped a few places on her robe and transformed the areas she could into guns. She used her cyborg body to shoot a bunch of things, and then finished, re-zipped her clothes, and left.  
Next came Reishirou. The dirty-blonde man took out a few guns and shot stuff, then left.  
"Why do people keep shooting stuff? It's a shame he can't do more," Grace sighed. "Next."  
Yoh walked in calmly, smiling, and went first to the swords station, where she skillfully attacked a legion of dummies, then she went to the obstacle course and completed it in record time. Grace nodded approvingly. Then the tribute did something most surprising; she picked up a few knives and a gun and handed them to the Gamemakers.  
"Attack me," she ordered.  
Grace blinked. "...you want us to kill you?"  
"I want you to _try_."  
Grace shrugged and threw the knives. Yoh dodged each one easily. "Try again."  
Grace picked up the gun and shot at the blonde a bunch of times. Yoh dodged each bullet effortlessly. Grace gaped. Yoh smiled and offered a gallant bow.  
"That was my performance," she announced. "And Grace, your sandal strap is undone."  
"Eh?" Grace looked down as Yoh exited the room. "Wow, it is. Thanks. OK! iDOLM STER next!"  
Hibiki climbed and completed the obstacle course in average time. Then she beat up some dummies and left.  
Miki fell asleep.  
Touma threw some knives and weights, then climbed a rope and left.  
Shouta completed the obstacle course slightly faster than usual and shot a few arrows, managing one bull's-eye.

And Ryo identified plants, tied some knots, started a fire, and  
turned himself into a tree.  
"Cute," Grace squeaked. "What do you think, Kuroi?"

Kuroi nodded in approval. "They all deserve high scores. But that Yoh girl did an extraordinary job. She deserves an 11 or 12," she said. She showed Grace the map. "Do you think this could be this year's arena or should we do a forest again?" The map was a snowy tundra with multiple caves and ravines.

"Ooh, that's good," Grace squealed. "I was thinking a desert with a single oasis. But that one is awesome!"

Kuroi smiled. "Maybe I can add a desert in here, what do you think?" she said.

"Good!" Grace cheered. "That's perfect! OK, let's put the finishing touches on quickly."

Amber turned on the TV. "This television thing is weird." she stated. Then, Kuroi walked into view. "Hello everybody, I am Kuroi, one of the Head Gamemakers. As you all may know, today is Evaluation Day, where we will review your scores from yesterday's training. So, first up is the Middle Earth tributes," she said. She shuffled a few pieces of aperture on her desk.

"Frodo Baggins, 6. Legolas Greenleaf, 7. Shelob, not including Maria, 3. Moving on to the Animalia tributes. Hawkfrost, 11. Firestar, 8. Gylfie, 7. The Leftover tributes; Amber, 8. Cody Mason, 6. Hermione Granger, 10. Elizabeth Swan, 11. And now-" She placed her hand on her ear, where a small headset was. "Ok, the Head Gamemaker herself will be continuing for me. It seems I have to make a few more touches on the new arena. Goodbye and good luck, tributes." she said, and got up, walking out of view. In her place, Grace walked in and sat down. She cleared her throat and read aloud.

"From Idolmaster: Xenoglossia-Makoto Kikuchi-8. Iori Minase-7. Hibiki Saku-7. Karasu-9. From Asura Cryin'-Shuri Kurosaki-9. Reishirou Saeki-6. Yoh Susugihara-11. The iDOLM STER-Hibiki Ganaha-7. Miki Hoshii-3. Touma Amagase-6. Shouta Mitarai-6. Ryo Akizuki-5." The Head Gamemaker smiled. "That is all. Tributes, please see your stylists. The interviews will begin tomorrow at 3 o' clock."

Amber turned off the TV, threw her head back and groaned. "An eight? Come ON. They can do better than that..." she muttered. Then she perked up. "Buuuut... Maybe I can use my score as an advantage. The other tributes will think I'm weak and then I can prove just how strong I am." She laughed.

"Well, now I know not to mess with you in the arena." said Cody, who had appeared behind her. She blew her bangs out of her eyes.

"Whatever..." she said.

Hawkfrost threw his glass cup at the TV in celebration, shattering the cup. "WOOHOO! I got an eleven!" he shouted. Firestar rolled his eyes.

"Calm down, you still have to get killed..." he muttered.

"I'm sorry, what?" asked Hawkfrost, picking up the glass shards and threw them away.

"Nothing. But just because you got the highest score of the Animalia tributes, doesn't mean you can brag about it. We still have to go inside the arena and kill people." answered Firestar. Hawkfrost nodded.

"I still hate you." he said. Firestar rolled his eyes again and walked over to his room.

Frodo was studying a globe in his room when Legolas walked into the room. "Do you need something?" asked Frodo without looking at him.

Legolas nodded. "I wanted you to have this. It's an Elvish luck charm." he said, holding out an ivy leaf on a small golden chain. Frodo smiled and took the bracelet.

"Thanks." he said, looking at it curiously. Legolas smiled and left.

Shuri bared her teeth. "A nine?! Are you _kidding _me?! I deserved, like, a 12!" She whirled angrily on Yoh, who was calmly drinking tea and not caring that she had gotten one of the highest scores of all the tributes. "You! How the heck did you beat me?!"  
"Shuri. Knowing how to shoot guns will not get you very far in the arena," Yoh replied. She placed the tea on a saucer and sighed. "Look at Saeki. He only got a six, and I'm sure all he did was shoot guns."  
"I'm a CYBORG!" Shuri whined. "I'm...freakin' awesome! I should get a twelve just for being a cyborg who can fly while simultaneously shooting guns from my body."  
Yoh just slowly shook her head and finished her tea, while Reishirou pondered the lowness of his score.

"Not bad," Karasu mused. "Nine is a pretty good score. Shuri must be good and she's on the alliance, so we're alright. Hibiki. You could've done better."  
"Sorry," Hibiki said, shrugging. He threw a dart at a dartboard, hitting off-center. He tried again.  
Makoto made a noise that sounded like half hiss, half growl. Then the stubborn, arrogant girl walked into her room, which was taking her lack of a higher score pretty well compared to Iori, who began to throw a miniature temper tantrum.

None of the iDOLM STER tributes seemed to mind their low scores. They talked and ate and laughed for the rest of the day, particularly at Miki's score of "three".


	7. Interviews

"Welcome, Capitol citizens!" Adder Cynquilly called to his assembled audience. Adder had been the interview host for three years, since Grace and Kuroi took over as co-Head Gamemakers. He laughed, a genuine, hearty laugh. "How's everybody doing tonight?"  
The audience cheered and Adder smiled. "Alrighty! How about we greet our tributes, huh? Are you guys excited? I sure am." The audience cheered again. "Alright! Let's start with Asura Cryin'! Our first interviewed tribute will be...Yoh Susugihara!"  
The audience let out another deafening cheer as Yoh slowly walked into the interviewing area, dressed in a burgundy tuxedo. She smiled and waved. Adder nodded slowly.  
"A suit?"  
"I find them much more comfortable than dresses. If you don't mind." The girl took a seat in the chair opposite Adder.  
"It's fine. Very unique," Adder laughed. "Not every day you see a girl in a tux."  
Yoh shrugged.  
"So. You got one of the highest training scores, along with Elizabeth Swan and Hawkfrost. An eleven! Nice job," Adder praised. "How'd you do it?"  
"If I told you, I would be revealing all my secrets," Yoh replied smartly. She closed her eyes and smiled.  
"True, true," Adder muttered. "Well, obviously you have a reason for wanting to win. What is it?"  
Yoh shrugged again. "To be perfectly honest. I have no reason to return home," Yoh admitted. "Not alone. If I get out of this arena, I take Shuri Kurosaki with me. Because..." The pleasant smile on her face faded. For a moment, her eyes flashed with pain, a deep, depressing agony that almost knocked Adder out of his chair. Yoh had become solemn. She continued. "...because, I don't ever want to lose her again. I can't. Not a third time. And if I have to die to keep that woman alive...well, then that's what I'll do."  
Adder smiled sympathetically. "I won't pry," he murmured. "But I must admit I'm a little curious."  
"You wouldn't understand," Yoh said quietly. Her eyes flicked to the ground and stayed that way until Adder placed a sequin-gloved hand on her shoulder, then gestured for the girl to stand. She did, and forced a smile back on her face. Adder slipped an arm around her waist and turned her to the audience.  
"Ladies and gentlemen, Yoh Susugihara!" The audience cheered and Yoh waved, then Adder sent her off. "Alright! Wasn't she such a pleasant girl? Seems like it'd be a shame to lose any of these tributes. Next up is Shuri Kurosaki!"  
The well-endowed woman practically flew to the stage. She was wearing a long, skin-tight, revealing blue dress and her glasses had been replaced with a pair that looked a bit like a masquerade mask. She waved to the audience and plopped in a chair. "'Sup."  
"Welcome. So Shuri, were you aware of Miss Yoh's desires to keep you alive until this point?"  
Shuri laughed. "Sure I did! That kid and I have been...shall I say, friends...for a long time." She paused. "But that won't stop me from killing her in the arena."  
"Ouch, that's harsh," Adder complained. "You're all business after all, huh?"  
"Sure am!" Shuri agreed. "So I suggest you others stay out of my way. Just because I didn't get the highest training score ever doesn't mean I don't have the skill to win this whole da** thing!"  
"Arrogant, are we?"  
"I have a reason, Adder."  
"I look forward to seeing you fight," Adder told her, chuckling. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Shuri Kurosaki!"  
Next was Reishirou, who was wearing a white and gold robe. He settled in the chair, crossed his legs, and folded his arms in his lap. His face was set in a frown.  
Adder laughed. "Lighten up!" he suggested. "We're all friends here, Reishirou. So. You have a reason to win, right? What is it?"  
Reishirou blinked. "Simple; so I can get back home to Reiko. She needs me, and frankly, I need her."  
"A girlfriend?" Adder pressed, a twinkle in his eye.  
Reishirou was not amused. "A little sister."  
"Oh...well, I hope you two can find happiness."  
"What is that supposed to mean?"  
"Nothing...nothing at all."

Somewhere in another room, Kuroi nodded and took out the pencil that she tucked behind her ear and drew a few lakes. And she also put on the middle of the arena, a forest. The arena was surrounded by a snowy tundra with only a few patches of regular forest.

"Should we add Mira now or when there's a certain amount of tributes left?" she asked. She drew a small hut near one of the forest patches. "This is where she'll start, and then she'll prowl around the arena." she said, pointing to the small hut that she had drawn. She pulled out a hologram caster from one of her pockets, set it on the ground, and turned it on. A giant, gray creature was projected from it. It stood up to at least a normal person's waist.

Grace seemed to be considering. "Put her in when there are...twelve tributes left. Halfway done. Sound good?"

Kuroi nodded and picked up the hologram projector and placed inside her pocket again. "I'm going to give this to Emerella. She'll put in Mira when it's time." she said, briskly walking towards the door and over to a large white room.

Adder smiled. "We'll now be moving on to the Middle Earth tributes. How 'bout that, huh?" he said, raising both arms. The audience cheered. "Ok, so our first tribute from this world will be," he drew out a dramatic silence. "Frodo Baggins!" Frodo walked up to the stage from behind the curtains in a tuxedo with a tie shaped like his former sword. He waved and the audience went crazy. He sat down next to Adder.

"Hi."

"Hello there! So, I must know, what do you Hobbits do for fun over in your Shire?" he asked. Frodo shrugged.

"We DEFINATELY don't go on adventures. Most Hobbits never really like to venture outside the Shire." he answered.

Adder nodded. "And do you have anyone else back home?" he asked.

"Well, there's my dear friend, Sam. And of course, there's my uncle, Bilbo." Frodo answered, leaning back in the chair.

Adder laughed. "I was surprised when I saw you on the footage for the security tapes from the training room. I didn't know that you could use a sword like that." he said.

Frodo nodded. "I've had some experience." he replied slyly. Adder motioned for Frodo to stand up.

"Well that's all the time we have for you. I wish you some luck in the arena!" he said, and Frodo walk off the stage. The audience clapped and awaited the next tribute. "And now... Legolas Greenleaf!" he shouted, and the blonde elf walked on stage, looking around the auditorium. He was wearing a typical tuxedo, only with forest-y colors instead of black and white. He sat down on the floor. Then, upon realizing there were chairs, he sat down in one instead. Adder held back a laugh.

"You didn't get a very high score on the evaluations, did you? Well. I personally admired your skills with a bow and arrow, and I decided that one day I'll have a go at it, once the Games are over." he said. Legolas smiled and nodded.

"I wish I could've had a higher score. I meant I got bull's-eyes EVERY time." he said.

Adder nodded. "I understand how you feel. Anyways," he adjusted his tie. "I heard that elves like you live in an 'enchanted forest'. Is that correct?" he asked Legolas. He nodded, and looked backstage. "Well, I can see that you want to go back, and I'll let you. That was Legolas, everybody!" he called, raising his and Legolas' hand.

"Ok, and now we have the giant, man-eating spider herself, give a big round of applause for Shelob!" he called, and the audience clapped and cheered as Shelob walked out from the curtain wearing sparkly long boots that went up most of her legs, and a thing that looked almost like a dress. She was followed by Maria, wearing what she had worn for the parade.

*Shelob's interview has been skipped since LOLIMMACAT had no clue what to do for a giant man-eating spider.*

"Shelob!" The audience cheered as the giant spider and her translator walked away. "Quite a pair, those two," he chuckled. "And now let's welcome our Animalia tributes!" He clapped as Firestar walked in with a fancy flame-orange suit speckled with stars. "Nice outfit." said Adder, shaking hands with Firestar. He politely dipped his head and sat down. "So as I saw from the reapings, you have a girlfriend?" he asked.

"Sandstorm is my wife," Firestar corrected him. "I also have two daughters."

"Ohh ok. So I assume you're fighting for them, aren't you?"

Firestar nodded. "And I hope to win, so I can see them again." he said.

Adder smiled sympathetically. "Well, I hope you do. You are a very skilled young man; you show a lot of courage." he said.

Firestar smiled. "Thank you. And if Sandstorm, Leafpool, and Squirrelflight are watching this, then if I don't see you again I want to tell you that I love you." he said, looking at the camera.

Somewhere back at his house, Leafpool started breaking down into tears, along with her sister.

Adder wiped his eye with his sleeve. "So very touching. Well, looks like that's all the time you have. I'll see you in the arena. Firestar, everybody!" he called, raising his hand and Firestar's hand like he did with Legolas.

Next in turn was Hawkfrost. He walked up on stage waving at the audience, making them go crazy. He was wearing a midnight blue suit with a hawk pin on his left sleeve. His hair had been dyed white and stuck together in clumps, like frosted grass. He sat down.

"My, what nice hair." Adder joked. Hawkfrost chuckled.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. So, tell me, do you have anyone special back home?" Adder asked.

Hawkfrost tossed his hair back. "Not really." he said.

Adder laughed. "Surely you must have a girl you have your eye on? What, with that face and those eyes." he pressed. Hawkfrost shook his head and gave a sort of laughter.

"Well there is ONE girl, but I won't say who she is, just for the sake of being on television. Only when I'm about to die, will I say her name." he said, fiddling with one of his pins.

"Ok, I won't pry any further. So, do you have anything out there that you're fighting for?" Adder asked.

Hawkfrost nodded. "My sister, Mothwing," he said.

Adder nodded.

"I hope she watches, so she can see me win." Hawkfrost added.

Adder laughed. "A handsome one _and _he's battle hungry. A very dangerous combination." he joked. Hawkfrost laughed a bit. Adder stood up. "We'll see you in the arena," he said, shaking hands with Hawkfrost. "Hawkfrost!" he shouted, and Hawkfrost walked out.

"Let's give a big welcome to Gylfie!" he said. Gylfie walked out in a fluffy light brown dress with a white bow in her hair.

"Hello." she said as she sat down.

"Hello there, sweetie. So, as I asked the other tributes, is there anything that you're fighting for?" he asked.

Gylfie tilted her head, thinking. "Well, there's my friend, Soren, And the rest of my group." she said.

Adder smiled. "It's so hard to see a young girl like you to get chosen for these sorts of things. How do you feel about it?" he asked her.

Gylfie shrugged. "I haven't given it much thought, really. I've gotten a few comments about it from some of the other tributes." she said, looking backstage at Cody.

"Ah, I see. So, do you have anyone special in your life?" Gylfie shook her head. "Oh, well that's a shame." he said. Gylfie smiled a bit. "Go on back now, sweetie. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Gylfie!" The audience went crazy as Gylfie headed back to her group.

Adder let the audience calm down before speaking again. "Now. It's time for the next group of tributes. Please welcome the Xenoglossia tributes, starting with the lovely Miss Iori Minase!"  
Iori strolled into the auditorium smiling. She was wearing a short orange-and-gold dress and had her hair done the way it had been at the parade. She waved and took a seat. "Hello!"  
"Hello, Miss Iori. So tell me...you're a strong girl, from what I've seen. How did you get that way?" Adder asked curiously.  
Iori shrugged. "I lift weights when I get bored," she sighed. "It's...sort of a hobby, you could say."  
"Interesting," Adder mused. "Alright, boyfriend, pronto. You've gotta have one, right?"  
"A boyfriend?" Iori considered it. "Well...there is this one...guy...I'm rather fond of." She blushed slightly.  
"Oh?" Adder grinned. "What's his name?"  
"His name...? Oh, it's...Nebula," Iori said quietly.  
Somewhere in a Mondenkind break room, a certain Haruka Amami let out a loud cry of disbelief, then burst out laughing.  
"Nebula? ...Interesting name. Well. What's your strategy for out there?"  
"Win." Iori shrugged as if that was all the explanation Adder would need.  
Adder nodded and laughed. "Nice answer. Iori Minase, folks! How 'bout her."  
The audience cheered. Iori stood, gave a little curtsey, and then sped off.  
"Next is Makoto Kikuchi!"  
Makoto walked briskly into the interview area and immediately sat in the chair. She had on a very short, form-fitting blue dress with a low neckline and an open back. The blushing girl was visibly uncomfortable in the revealing outfit. She squirmed. Adder laughed.  
"You look lovely," he commented, trying to put her at-ease, but unfortunately his comment only made Makoto blush and squirm even more. Adder coughed. "So. An eight. Not a bad score, am I right?"  
"I can do better," Makoto muttered.  
"You ripped those dummies apart," Adder replied. "I was impressed."  
"I can easily do so to human flesh as well. Adder."  
Adder tried to smile despite the fear he felt from staring into Makoto's icy blue eyes. He coughed. "...right, of course. You're one of those 'all business' types, huh?"  
"Listen, I only have one goal in these Games, and that is to win," Makoto hissed, suddenly looking quite angry. "To show Onee-chan that I'm better than all these people. To show that Minase that I've surpassed her long ago. To make sure that that woman knows I am worthy of her attention!" Makoto jumped to her feet and pointed directly into the camera. "You hear that, Onee-chan?! You'll regret betraying me! You'll see how strong I can be!"  
Adder quickly leapt to his feet, laughing awkwardly to ease the sudden tension in the room. "Isn't she priceless?" he laughed.  
"I'm dead serious," Makoto lashed.  
"I'm sure you are, honey. I look forward to seeing you fight! Makoto Kikuchi, everyone!"  
Makoto stomped away, shoving people out of her way. Adder cleared his throat.  
"Next up...Hibiki Saku!"  
The tall man wandered in in a dark blue suit, taking his time, and slumped into a chair. He waved.  
"Welcome to the interviews," Adder greeted, holding out a hand to shake Hibiki's. Hibiki took it, smiling good-naturedly.  
"Thank you," he laughed. "Aren't our female tributes just the _cutest_?" There was a slight sarcastic edge on his last word.  
"Adorable," Adder agreed, also somewhat sarcastically. "Well. It's obvious you tributes have a few bumps in your relationships. What's it like working with these guys?"  
"Working?" Hibiki sounded confused. "Adder, our only purpose at these Games is to kill enough people to get home alive. I think of these people as nothing more than pawns in my overall plan for world domination-I mean, winning these Games." He smiled.  
Adder blinked. "World domination."  
"_Winning the Games_."  
"...of course. Any friends in the arena?"  
"None at all." Hibki was still smiling, which was somehow even more unsettling than Makoto's fury.  
Adder gulped. "...right. Alright, go on back, Hibiki. Next up we have Karasu..." Adder blinked again. "...Karasu! Don't you have a last name?"  
Karasu, who was walking into the area with a smirk and crossed arms, laughed. "Not really."  
"Ah. Well, anyways...welcome to the Games!"  
Karasu straightened the collar of his black-and-purple robe and sat down. "Thank you. It's a _pleasure_ to be here."  
Adder tried to focus on the interview instead of how immensely creepy these tributes were. "I'm sure it is. So. Friends in the arena? Friends back home? Reason for winning?"  
"In the arena, friends are disposable things," Karasu began. "You make them as you go along and kill them when they are no longer of use to you. Right now, my...how you say, 'friends'...consist of Shuri Kurosaki and our very own Hibiki Saku."  
Adder nodded. "A true sentiment."  
"Friends back home? ...I have co-workers, if you please. Including the 'lovely' Miss Makoto. Quite a feisty one, isn't she?"  
"Quite so indeed."  
"It's actually kinda hot."  
"...I guess."  
"As for my reason for winning?" Karasu shrugged. "I really just want to hear the screams of the other tributes as I crush their necks beneath my feet."

"I like seeing bloodshed."

Karasu smiled.  
"...is that so. Yes. Thank you for being with us." Adder coughed. "...You may go. Alright everyone, how about them tributes?" He laughed and the audience cheered. Karasu left the stage.  
"Next are the tributes from the iDOLM STER world. First let's have Ryo Akizuki! Come on up, lad!"  
The small, feminine-looking boy walked over to Adder looking very much awkward-which was normal considering he was wearing a pink dress. He sat down slowly and tried to avoid eye contact as much as possible.  
"You look cute in that," Adder squealed.  
Ryo squeaked and tried to stop blushing.  
"So. A score of five, right?"  
Ryo nodded and tugged on the skirt of his dress. "I should have known..."  
"What was that?"  
"I should have known...that my stylists would choose something like this to give to me."  
"Ah..." Adder shrugged. "That kind of style is really cute on you."  
"Thank you. I've been told that my whole life. I wish I were more manly."  
"Such an adorable goal."  
"...can I please go now? This dress is particularly short and I would like to get out of it as soon as possible."  
"...yeah, go ahead, kid. How 'bout a hand for him!"  
Ryo stood and hustled away very quickly. He was immediately replaced by Miki, who was also wearing a very revealing dress. She waved, made an attractive pose, and blew a kiss, then hopped into the seat.  
"This seat is comfy, nano," she stated.  
Adder waved. "Nice outfit."  
"Thanks~ Miki is cute, isn't she?" Miki yelped. "Miki knows Miki is cute. You don't have to answer that." She yawned. "Miki is tired. Afuu~"  
Adder laughed as Miki curled up in the chair. "So, a score of three for falling asleep during training-she feel asleep," Adder realized. Sure enough, the peppy blonde idol had fallen asleep in the chair. Touma, dressed in a simple black tux, quickly ran up, lifted her out of the chair, and handed her off to Hibiki, then sat down in her place with an annoyed sigh.  
Adder burst out laughing. "She's hilarious!" he exclaimed to Touma.  
Touma was not amused. "She's annoying."  
Adder waited until he had calmed down to continue. "So. What's your motivation?"  
"I have no motivation. I'm going to die anyway. I might as well die easily."  
"...ah, I see," Adder murmured. "So. Any special girls? You have to have one, with a face like that."  
Touma blushed slightly. "Girls are all annoying. They just get in the way."  
"Aw, come on..."  
"Can I go?"  
Adder sighed. "How about him, guys? What do you think?" The audience cheered. "Alright, alright. Go on back. Next up, it's Shouta Mitarai!"  
The energetic young idol bounded over to Adder, passing Touma on his way in, and waved wildly to the audience. He fiddled with his light green suit for a moment, then plopped into the chair.  
"Hi~!" he greeted.  
"Hi there!" Adder returned. "So, the Games. Do YOU have any girls back home?"  
Shouta placed a finger on his lip, considering. "Nah, but there's a guy."  
Adder blinked. "A...special guy?"  
"Yup~!"  
Adder blinked again. "Oh...is that how it is, then? What's his name?"  
"Hokuto-kun~. He's in the unit with Touma-kun and I." Shouta stood up and waved to the camera. "Hey, Hokuto-kun~! I haven't forgotten about you, so please keep cheering for me!" He plopped back in the chair, smiling and happy.  
Adder laughed. "You do kinda strike me as the type to have a boyfriend, though..."  
"Boyfriend?" Shouta looked disgusted. "What are you talking about? Hokuto-kun isn't my boyfriend. We're just close friends. That's all!"  
Adder looked a little embarrassed. "Oh...whoops, my bad. Anyways! Go on back now, and send out Hibiki Ganaha!"  
Shouta stood up, waved to the audience again, and then left. Hibki jumped in in a safari outfit.  
"Heya!" she squealed. "Name's Hibiki Ganaha, an' I'm gonna die in the Hunger Games!"  
"I like your spirit!" Adder cheered. "But come on. Don't act so down. I'm sure you'll get far!"  
"I got ten pets!" Hibiki cried.  
"Wow, that's a lot," Adder pointed out.  
"Yup! An' I love 'em all!" Hibiki laughed. "By the way, just so ya know, I'm way cooler than that other Hibiki. I'm like...the original Hibiki!"  
Somewhere with Grace, the girl muttered, "No you're not..."  
Hibiki sat up straighter. "Anyhow...I'm gonna die but I'm gonna have fun, so it's no problemo!"  
"Alright! How about a round of applause for Hibiki Ganaha!"  
Hibiki stood and ran away, waving to the audience.  
"Next up...the Leftover tributes!"

Cody walked nervously onto the stage. He was wearing a completely normal tuxedo. "There's a lot of people here," he muttered. He sat down on a chair. "Hey." he said to Adder.

Adder smiled. "Hello. So you are Cody, correct?" he asked.

Cody nodded.

"So I hear you had some trouble with that girl, Elizabeth Swan, hm?" Adder asked.

Cody nodded again. "We don't really get along. Though she is hot when she's angry." he said.

Somewhere in the back room, Elizabeth was getting angry and pounding her fist against her palm.

Cody scratched his neck. "Can I be done? I really have to pee." he said. Adder laughed and nodded. Cody waddled offstage with his hands holding his crotch, like toddlers do.

"That was Cody, everybody." he said. Most of the audience laughed, and the others were just too confused to do anything.

Next up was Elizabeth, who punched Cody in the shoulder really hard as he passed. She was wearing a deep red dress with her hair up in a bun, with a fluffy blue feather sticking out of it. "'Ello." she said, sitting down.

Adder smiled. "Hello Elizabeth," he said. "I guess you are quite aware of what Cody said?" he asked.

Elizabeth nodded.

"I have footage him getting punched, since we have a camera out in the hall. Would you like to see it?" he asked.

Elizabeth smiled and nodded.

The audience cheered and Adder pressed a button on a remote that had somehow magically appeared on the table infringement of them. The screen turned black and white as the footage of Elizabeth punching Cody in the arm. Everyone laughed when the clip was over. Elizabeth was laughing, too. Finally, her turn was over and next up was Hermione.

Hermione walked up onto the stage wearing a heather-colored dress with her hair back in a ponytail, and her wand was tucked in her hair. She shook hands with Adder and sat down. "Hello." she said.

Adder dipped his head. "Hello. So, do tell me," he shifted in his chair. "Are you aware that you have a secret admirer?" he asked.

Somewhere in the back room, Legolas shifted uncomfortably.

A confused look appeared on Hermione's face and she blushed. "I-I do?"

Adder nodded.

"No, I guess I spent most of my time planning and I didn't pay any attention. But... Do you know who it is?" Hermione asked.

Adder nodded and smiled. "But if I told you, it wouldn't be a secret anymore, now would it?" he said mockingly. Hermione smiled and rolled her eyes.

"I guess so." she said.

"So, even though you did well in the evaluation test, you didn't get a very high score, did you?" Hermione shook her head. "Well, good luck on the arena. And that's all the time we have. Hermione Granger, everybody!" he said, placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder. She walked back down to the back room.

Next up was Amber, who was wearing a pretty, sunset orange dress with blue sequins near the bottom.

"Hello! I'm guessing you're Amber?"

"..."

"Ooookay then. Do you want to go?"

She nodded.

"Okay then. Uhh, Amber everyone!" Adder called and Amber walked out.

"That would be all, ladies and gentlemen! How about those tributes? Thank you for attending the Hunger Games interviews, and be sure to choose if you want to sponsor a tribute. Thank you, and goodnight!"


	8. Somewhat-Extra Chapter: Nighttime Stuff

**A/N: The first of this chapter. So, this chapter was really just me (and LOLIMMACAT** **with Cody at the end, but mostly me) messing around and describing what I (or we) think it would be like for the tributes at night if there were only two beds per room.**

**Karasu in particular is quite OOC in this chapter, but I adore making him a sarcastic pervert and actually highly support him in a pairing with Xenoglossia Makoto.**

**In addition, the end of this chapter, the one with Cody, actually involves a huuuuuge plot point so you'll at least have to read that one.**

**Oh yeah, and this takes place at the end of most of the series except for Xenoglossia. It takes place somewhere between the 14th and 23rd episodes of Xenoglossia.**

**And you know that perviness I mentioned? That comes into play here.**

**But, yeah. Please enjoy.**

The iDOLM STER

"Two beds?!" Hibiki gasped. "How are five people gonna fit on two beds?"

"Some of us will have to share a bed," Ryo announced.

"I'll share a bed with Ryo-kun~!" Shouta exclaimed. "If you don't mind. Here, I'll take the left side and you can take the right!"

"I'll sleep on the floor," Hibiki offered. "It really don't matter to me."

"That was bad grammar, Hibiki-chan."

"Yup."

Miki yawned. "Miki can sleep anywhere so Miki will sleep somewhere else, and that means Touma-kun gets a bed all to himself," she declared.

"That sounds good," Touma muttered. "Then, I'm taking this bed."

"Ryo-kun and I will take this one."

"I get this comfy floor!"

"And Miki will sleep…somewhere else."

Asura Cryin'

Reishirou stared. "There is…no way a member of the First Student Council can possibly share a bed with a woman if he is a man. I get my own bed, and you two will share."

"You want me to share a bed with…her?" Shuri questioned, jabbing a finger at Yoh.

"I think it would be fine. You look so cute when you're sleeping, after all."

"Shut up, Yoh!"

Yoh sighed. "If you're that against it, I wouldn't mind taking the floor."

Shuri stared at her for a moment while Reishirou climbed into his chosen bed. Slowly, Shuri lay down on the floor.

"Brr…it's really cold and hard," she muttered. "You…I wouldn't want you catching a cold after all but I'm not happy about having to share a bed with you." She laughed. "After all, you deserve to make your last night on Earth nice and toasty warm, eh? Fine. I'll put up with it just for tonight, OK? But don't do any weird things."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yoh asked her, heading towards the bathroom. "I appreciate it. I promise I don't move around much so you aren't in danger of falling out."

"That's not exactly what I meant."

"…You think…I would sexually harass you in bed, is what you're saying."

"Wouldn't you, though? I _do _have a pretty sweet body, you have to admit."

"…Are you trying to insinuate something?"

"Nothing~"

Idolmaster: Xenoglossia

"I need my own bed!" Iori screeched. "There is no way I will share a bed with any of you people. So some of you others will have to share!"

"I wouldn't mind sharing," Hibiki muttered. "Karasu?"

"Or…" Karasu flashed Makoto a smirk. "I can share with Little Miss Feisty over here, and Hibiki, you take the floor." He shrugged. "It's impolite to make ladies sleep on the floor anyway."  
"Here's the best idea yet," Makoto began. "Both of you boys sleep on the floor, and us girls get the beds to ourselves."

"That's not fair," Hibiki complained.

"Shut up, you," Iori snapped. "For once, I actually agree with Makoto."

"Thanks, Minase."

"Shut up."

Karasu frowned. "I…think my idea is the best."

"I think _I'm _the best," Makoto retaliated.

"I think you people are all idiots and you should just do what I say," Iori countered.

"I think we all need to shut up and get along," Hibiki announced. "I'll sleep on the floor, but as for the last bed, you two will have to figure that out."

"It's mine," Makoto declared. As if to stake her claim, she pulled her jacket from her shoulders and threw it on the bed. "I'm going to get changed."

Karasu watched her go, then shrugged and climbed into the bed. "Goodnight. It's your last one alive so try to dream well." He added a smirk and then settled into the bed.

Iori and Hibiki stared.

"She's gonna be ticked," Iori stated, crawling into her own bed.

"How much do you want to bet that we'll fall asleep to the sound of her cursing him out?" Hibiki mused.

"I can't make that bet since I agree with you," Iori laughed. "Well…goodnight."

"Goodnight."

The iDOLM STER

"Touma-kun? …Touma-kun, it's Miki. Touma-kuuuun~"

Touma moaned. "What the heck…?"

"Miki can't sleep," the blonde girl muttered. "Miki would like to try sleeping here with Touma-kun. Is that OK?"

Touma blinked. "_You _can't sleep?"

Miki nodded.

Touma raised an eyebrow. "Miki Hoshii…can't sleep."

She nodded again.

"..OK, what the _heck_."

"So can Miki sleep here please?" Miki begged. "Miki thinks that if Miki were warm in bed with Touma-kun, Miki would be able to sleep."

Touma sighed. "…What. The. Heck."

"So is that a 'what the heck' like, 'what the heck, go ahead and sleep here', or like 'what the heck is wrong with you'?"

"…both."

"OK~" Slowly, Miki crawled into the bed and laid her head on Touma's chest. Touma tried not to blush.

"Meh. This is never gonna happen again, OK? I'm only letting you because we're gonna die tomorrow," he muttered.

"OK," Miki sighed. She snuggled deeper against him and Touma blushed. "Touma-kun is…really soft. Miki likes it."

"H-hey…!"

"That's a good thing, Touma-kun. You're warm too~ Miki likes it."

"…You're annoying."

"You're mean, Touma-kun," Miki pouted. "…Miki likes you."

Touma blinked. "What?"

"Miki likes you," Miki repeated.

Touma blinked again. "If you say that like a _normal _person, I might consider listening," he declared.

Miki heaved a great sigh. "Fine, Miki will try. Miki means—that is, Miki—um…" She giggled. "Talking like a normal person is hard because Miki is used to talking like this because Miki is cute like that."

"Try again," Touma ordered.

Miki moved her hand onto his chest and smiled. "…Miki—er…I…like you."

Touma allowed himself to smile back. "Better. Much better. Now, if you talk like that for the rest of your life, I'll consider overlooking your many other flaws and focus on the positive, and potentially say I like you too."

"Miki…I-I will try," Miki said carefully.

Touma sighed and moved his arm around her waist. "…I…really hope you don't die out there, Miki."

"Miki…I do too. I…also hope that Touma-kun doesn't die."

"I'll take care of you…OK?" Touma promised. "As long as you promise you won't be annoying about it."

"…I promise."

"Good. Thanks."

Slowly, Miki sat up, leaned down, and kissed Touma's lips gently. "Goodnight, Touma-kun. I am going to sleep now."

Touma blushed. "What was that?"

"A kiss for Touma-kun~"

"…you know what, what the heck. Goodnight, Miki. Sleep well."

"Goodnight, Touma-kun~. I will."

Asura Cryin'

"C'mon, Yoh, move over!"

"If I move over any more I'll fall off the bed…"

"Exactly! Now move!"

"Why don't you move? You're taking up a lot of room."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?!"

"…That you're taking up a lot of room."  
"I'm not fat!"

"I never said you were…where did you come up with that?"

"You said I—"

"Your _arm _is on my _face_, Shuri."

"I…your hand is on my breast!"

"That's only because you moved so close…"

"HARRASSMENT!"

"I'm not—"

"Would you two be quiet?!" Reishirou moaned. "Some people are actually trying to _sleep_ before they go kill people in a giant arena tomorrow."

"I don't need sleep to win," Shuri scoffed.

"Well, some people do. Like me. Now could you please be quiet already?"

Yoh sighed. "Shuri…please get your hand off of my face."

Shuri made an annoyed noise and scooted away. "There. Are you happy now?"

"Yes, thank you."

Shuri grunted and rolled over. Yoh adjusted her position on the bed a bit and tried again to fall asleep. Reishirou examined the two girls and then lay down.

"Goodnight, you two."

"Goodnight, Saeki."

"'Night, Reishirou! Have lots of happy dreams before you die tomorrow!"

The room fell silent. After a while, Yoh could hear Reishirou's steady breathing and assumed he had fallen asleep. She closed her eyes and was about to fall asleep herself when Shuri complained again.

"I'm cold. You're taking all the blanket."

Yoh blinked. "All I have is the corner of this sheet. You have all the blanket."

"I'm still cold!" Shuri complained. Yoh sighed again and moved closer to her. Slowly, she slipped her arms around the girl and rested her head against her neck.

"Are you warm now?" she breathed.

Shuri tried not to blush. "I…what are you…get off of me!"

"But it's warm, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but…I don't want you breathing all over me!"

Yoh detached herself and moved to the other side of the bed. "That's fine, but you can't complain to me if you get cold. There's nothing else I can do."

Shuri blinked. "…you…are a jerk."

"I'm serious. All I have is a corner of the sheet." Yoh paused. "If you would be in an alliance with me, maybe I would consider letting you use my coat."

"Can't," Shuri said proudly. "I'm already in an alliance. So—"

"You're _what_?!"

Shuri's eyes widened slightly and she rolled over. Yoh had propped herself up on her elbow and was staring down at Shuri with a hint of anger in her gaze.

"You heard me," Shuri said evenly. "I already joined an alliance."

"Shuri! You knew I wanted you to join up with me, but…you told me you weren't joining any alliances! That you could handle all of this on your own. Right?"

"I just didn't want to join up with _you_," Shuri hissed.

"How am I supposed to take care of you now?" Yoh lashed. Her eyes flashed remorse and she now glared at the lying-down figure of Shuri. "You know that those people are against you. Even if they say…" She trailed off. "It's Karasu and Hibiki Saku, isn't it? That's what Karasu said during the interviews…and he also mentioned friends being disposable. Don't you get it? He's just using you…!"

"So?" Shuri spat. "I can take care of myself, you know! I don't need you looming over me all the time!"

"I'm just trying to protect you. I _can't_ lose you, Shuri." Yoh paused. "…Yukari."

"Don't you dare!" Shuri cried. "You didn't even know…all this time, you didn't even know it was me! All you ever did was worry about Shuri-neechan…all this time! And then, _then_…then you just let her die!"

"I _let _her…" Yoh trailed off. Again her eyes flashed. She gritted her teeth. "I _let _her die? What are you…do you think I wanted any of this to happen?!"

Shuri glared back at her. "Well, you were the one that tried to turn me into a burial doll…"

"I didn't have a choice! Shuri was dead!" Yoh snapped. "Do you think I _wanted _my father to die?! You think I _wanted_ that plane to crash? That I _wanted _to have to turn you into a burial doll? I was just doing everything I could to keep you safe! I didn't ask for Shuri to get killed, Yukari! I just wanted to protect you!"

Shuri's eyes softened. "I wish…you would stop calling me that," she muttered. "…Yukari, that is. We've agreed that I'm not Yukari anymore. It's _Shuri_."

"So now you want me to call you Shuri," Yoh mumbled, chuckling. "Before, you were furious at me for calling you that name. In fact, that may have been the reason you started using Shuri's name in the first place."

"Yeah, that was part of it, but what does it matter to you anyways? You couldn't even tell the difference!"

"_No one_ could tell the difference."

"But you were supposed to be different!" Shuri yelled. "You were supposed to be able to figure it out! But no, all you cared about was her! Why didn't you recognize me from the start? I'd missed you so much!"

"Would you stop it?!" Yoh shouted. "I'm tired of being made into the bad guy. You're Yukari. I understand that now. But at that time, it was just too difficult for me to consider that there was even a chance that you were actually here. As far as I could tell, you were a Burial Doll. And that was how I wanted things. I planned to get you out, to use the Stabilizer and at least be able to keep you alive longer, but…"

"It was never me in there," Shuri muttered. She rolled over. "…I'm sick of having this conversation with you, Yoh. What matters is that she's dead and you didn't even do a thing about it."

"I couldn't do anything, OK? I tried," Yoh responded. She flopped back onto the bed. "…I'm sorry, Yukari. But I love you both, and at that point I had done everything I could. I didn't ask for any of this to happen. But you're being immature about it, just trying to pin all the blame on me, as if everything that happened was my fault."

"I…." Shuri paused. "Yoh…"

"I'm going to sleep," the blonde murmured. "And no matter what happens, even if you try to kill me for it, I'm still going to protect you in that arena. I'm sorry."

"…I'm sorry too," Shuri said quietly. "…You're right, OK? There was nothing you could have done. And I guess it's a little unfair of me to keep blaming you for what happened to you. I guess I've forgotten that you're hurting too…"

"I forgive you."

There was a long pause. "I'm sorry about your father, too. You never told me he was dead."

"He is."

"You know…I'm still cold."

Yoh looked at her. "What?"

Shuri rolled over to face her, her eyes shining. "I said…I'm still cold."

Yoh smiled slightly. "Alright. But you have to promise me you won't stab me in the middle of the night."

"Right." Slowly, Shuri inched closer and rested her head against Yoh's chest. Yoh held her close and smiled. "…but I'm still going to kill you in the arena."

Yoh chuckled. "That's fine. As long as you're safe…Yukari."

"I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Goodnight."

"…Goodnight, Yoh."

"I love you."

"…I guess…an inkling of me…cares slightly for you too. Sort of."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Somewhere in a different bed, Reishirou allowed a sad smile to light his face. He slowly settled back into sleep, dreaming of the family he'd left behind.

And so they slept, Shuri snuggled close against the friend she had learned to love again, and all three of them dreaming peacefully of those they'd lost.

Idolmaster: Xenoglossia

Makoto wandered out of the bathroom in a pair of pajamas and walked slowly to her bed—which she found to be occupied. She groaned and nudged Karasu's sleeping figure with her elbow.

"You. Get out of my bed."

"You," Karasu responded. "Get in our bed."

"I…what the heck? There is no way I am sharing a bed with you," Makoto snapped. "Out."

"Nah, this bed's really comfortable," Karasu sighed. He sat up and moved over. "Come on. It'll be nice and warm with two people."

Makoto felt a blush light her cheeks. "No way. Out."

"No. Now come on."

"No. Freakin'. Way."

"Well, I'm not leaving."

Makoto groaned and finally climbed into the bed. "If you touch me, you are so dead."

"Like…" Karasu reached across and squeezed her breast. "…that?"

Makoto blushed. "You little…!"

Karasu laughed. "You really are hot when you get mad," he told her.

"Sh-shut up!"

Karasu waved his hand. "It won't stop me from killing you, but…"

"Whatever…"

Karasu chuckled one more time and then lay down. The room was silent for a moment. Makoto squirmed.

"I'm hot."

"Yes, I know."

"That's not what I meant, idiot. I mean that I'm physically—"

"Attractive?"

"Shut up! This bed is way too warm for me, is what I'm trying to say."

Karasu laughed. "I love teasing you."

"Just shut your mouth and get out of my bed."

Karasu shrugged. "If you got naked, it might help," he suggested.

Makoto's face turned the color of freshly-made cherry Kool-Aid. She shot up. "W-what?! Why the he** would I…you're a guy! Stop being such a pervert!"

"Hey, I see naked women all the time. It doesn't bother me."

"That doesn't make it any better, you bastard!"

"Ouch, your words are kind of painful. B**ch."

"Shut up!"

Karasu smirked. "I'll bet you really want to hit me right now."

"Oh, I want to do _way more _than just hit you," Makoto hissed. "I'm going to sleep. Let's hope tonight is the last time you ever see me."

"I'd like to see you try to hurt me," Karasu scoffed.

Makoto growled and sat up again, immediately sending her fist flying towards Karasu's face. Karasu caught her hand, a taunting smirk on his face. Makoto tried again with the other hand. Karasu caught it again and pinned her to the bed, looming over her, the smirk still frozen on his face. Makoto blushed.

"G-get off of me, da** you!"

"You're cute when you're yelling at me."

"I will _stab you _to death a million times over in that arena."

"If you survive past the first night, that is."

"Would you stop it?!"

Karasu watched her struggle in vain to sit up, amusement lighting his gaze. "Well. Thanks for the entertainment."

"Let go of m—"

Before Makoto could finish, Karasu suddenly lurched down and stopped her words with his lips. Makoto blushed and struggled some more, trying desperately to get out of the kiss. Unfortunately for her, Karasu still had her hands pinned to the bed, and the fact that he was now pressed against her body limited her movements even more. Karasu kissed her for a long time before finally sitting up, the eternal smirk still on his face and his hands still pinning hers to the bed.

"There. Wasn't that fun?"

"You…" Makoto blushed. "What the he** is wrong with you?!"

"Ow. Stop doing that."

"G-get off of me!"

"Nah, you're really hot like this. I like it. A lot."

"Would you just…you're such a f—"

Karasu cut her off by kissing her again. Makoto writhed and struggled, but Karasu only kissed her deeper. He flicked his tongue against her lips, purely for the sake of annoying her, which succeeded. Eventually, Makoto gave up and fell still, her face bright red and her eyes narrowed. When Karasu had finished with his fun, he retreated again and was instantly met with a string of cursing from Makoto's mouth.

"You da** little…I should just…you're such a bastard! I can't believe you would do this f****ng sh**…just get the he** off of me!"

"You amuse me."

"Shut up!"

Karasu suddenly lifted one of Makoto's arms and turned her onto her stomach, then hit her lightly on the butt and flipped her back onto her back, resuming his position.

Makoto's blush deepened even more. "What…what the he**?!"

"You were being naughty. So I punished you."

"Please just leave me alone!"

Karasu smiled. The girl was getting desperate now, which amused him even more. "No."

"I just want to go to sleep," Makoto groaned. "OK? You can stay here with me if you just let me sleep!"

"You so like me."

"I do not, you idiot!"

"I hope you realize I'm only doing this because I really love making you mad," Karasu said. "It helps that you happen to be pretty hot."

"I…just want to sleep," Makoto complained in a voice that sounded close to a whine. It furthered Karasu's amusement. He laughed.

"I'm not quite done with you yet. How about the next time I make out with you, you kiss me back."

"Aren't you…close to 30 or something?"

"Age-wise? …to be honest, I have no idea. Let's assume for the sake of the amount of fun I'm having that I'm 21."

"That's…that's five years!"

"So? Just kiss me. Because I know you want to."

Grace suddenly magically appeared in the room. "You guys should have sex so you can produce sexy babies," she stated.

"Fine with me," Karasu agreed, smirking.

"N-no way…!" Makoto lashed.

"Bye." Grace vanished in a puff of orange smoke in a way that definitely shouldn't have been possible for normal human beings.

"Get off," Makoto ordered once she'd left.

Karasu just stared at her.

"I'd rather sleep with _Saku _than you."

Karasu chuckled.

"Get. The f***. Off."

"Wow, you're really mad," Karasu observed. "I wonder what would happen if I angered you even further…?"

"Don't you dare!" Makoto gasped.

Ignoring her, Karasu removed his hand from her left wrist and used it to give her a quick squeeze between the legs. Makoto gasped and let out a loud cry. Her face turned the color of pomegranates. Summoning all her strength, Makoto lurched up and shoved Karasu off of the bed and onto the floor, immediately launching into a shouting fit of every curse word that had ever existed. Karasu watched her, still greatly amused.

Somewhere in another bed, Iori covered her ears and looked down to Hibiki.

"We were right," she commented.

"Of course we were," Hibiki agreed.

"…well, goodnight."

"Goodnight. If you can get to sleep with all the shouting."

"Don't I know it…"

When Makoto had finished her tangent, she collapsed back in the bed and curled up in the blankets, trying not to let Karasu hear her sniffling. The black-haired young man let her lie down alone for a while before crawling back in the bed and wrapping his arms around her slowly, holding her head against his chest. Makoto sniffed.

"Jerk."

"Sorry. I'm done now, promise."

Makoto sat up, waited for Karasu to do so as well, and then punched him in the nose. Then she lay back down, huffing loudly.

Karasu blinked and put a hand on his bleeding nose. "…Goodnight, b**ch."

"No it's not."

"Well, it will be from now on." Again he lay down and slipped his arms around her, holding her tight. "Now come on. Let's just sleep."

"I hate you. I really, really hate you," Makoto announced. She snuggled against his chest.

"Oh? But you're cuddling with me," Karasu pointed out. "It's cute. You're pretty cute."

"It's not like I have a choice," Makoto muttered. "When I see you in the arena, I am going to make you suffer a slow, painful death by my bare hands."

"Let's hope we don't cross paths, then. Because when I see _you_, you will probably get raped."

"W-what?!"

"I think it'll be fun. Plus you'll get really mad, which is always hilarious," Karasu answered. He chuckled and pulled her in even closer, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Goodnight already."

"…it still isn't," Makoto half-whined. She sighed. "Night."

"GO TO SLEEP ALREADY!" Iori screeched. "Geez, the nerve of some people…!"

Karasu chuckled and closed his eyes. Makoto allowed herself to relax in his arms, and the two of them slept as close as possible until the next morning.

For some reason, in the morning Makoto felt a lot more reluctant to kill her Turiavita co-worker than she should have been.

Leftovers (with a guest appearance by Makoto from The iDOLM STER)

The time was 11:39 pm. The black-haired girl sneaking through the halls had only one purpose—to find one Cody Mason and spend as much time with him as possible before the boy was sent into the arena. Eventually, she managed to find the room holding the Leftover tributes and snuck inside, finding Cody asleep in his bed. She shook him lightly.

"Hey…Cody…Cooodyyyy, it's me…it's Makoto! Wake up!"

Cody woke up. "Huh wha? Oh. Hi Makoto!" he said, sitting up in bed. He was still shirtless, since he had taken a shower the night before.

Makoto giggled. "I missed you so I came to say hello. You're going to the arena soon, right?" she asked. She crawled onto the bed and wrapped her arms tightly around Cody's neck.

Cody laughed a bit. "I missed you too," he said. "And yeah, unfortunately I'm leaving tomorrow."

Makoto, being the iDOLM STER Makoto and not the actual Xenoglossia Makoto who is participating in these Games, was instantly saddened. "Well, if that's the case…" Slowly, she reached over and grabbed Cody's wrist, placing his hand on her hip. "Let's try to have a lot of fun tonight~, OK? In case you don't get out, then…" She allowed a small pause before forcibly dragging Cody's hand up her body, eventually settling it on her breast. She blushed.

"Um…i-it's a little small, but I think it's still soft~. You can squeeze it if you like~"

Cody smiled and chuckled. "Well, yeah, I guess…" He squeezed a bit. Before Makoto could say anything else, he kissed her, holding her against him with his free arm.

Makoto blushed and kissed him back. The two of them stayed that way for a while before Cody retreated.

"What if I don't make it out?" he sighed. "Of the arena, that is."

"Don't talk like that, please!" Makoto begged, grabbing his shoulders. "You'll be OK, right?"

Cody sighed. "Maybe. But what if I'm not?" He shrugged. "I'm just saying."

Makoto stared at him. She blushed. "Then…in case this is the last night…" She took a deep breath and slowly pulled her shirt off her body, dropping it onto the ground. Then she unclipped her bra and let it fall to the floor before moving on to her pants. In a few moments, the girl was completely naked. She blushed harder. "I…for tonight, my body belongs to you. Please…b-be gentle…"

Cody's heart sped up and he blushed. "Makoto, I…" He trailed off. "I guess…if this is the last night…" Slowly, he moved and pulled off his pants, dropping them onto the floor. "I…I love you, Makoto. I always will." He kissed her cheek.

Makoto smiled. "I love you too," she murmured, crawling under the covers. "But…I'm scared. I'm scared to let you go in there. Please, no matter what, you can't…" She trailed off. "You can't leave me, please!"

Cody frowned and pulled her against him. "But what if something happens? What if I can't make it?"

Makoto sniffled. "I…please stop talking that way," she whimpered. "I love you…I love you more than I've ever loved another human being in my life, so please…please just promise me you'll make it out of that arena alive!" She broke into sobs and wrapped her arms around Cody. He frowned and took a deep breath, thinking about how to go about doing what he was about to do.

"Makoto, I was thinking…when I go into the arena and when, or if, I survive, then maybe you could come and live with me in my new house, and we could have a small marriage. And then we could be happy forever," he finished, smiling slightly.

Makoto drew in a sharp breath. "You…did you just ask me to marry you?" she breathed. "That's…oh, Cody! Of course! I-I thought you'd never ask…"

Cody giggled. "Of course I am, silly," he said, rubbing his nose on hers. Makoto giggled back and snuggled further against him. He placed his hands on her hips and rubbed her sides. Then he sighed. "I really don't want to do this…"

Makoto yelped. "You don't? W-why didn't you tell me? I'll put my clothes back on, just hold on…"

"No, I mean…" Cody paused. "I don't want to go in that arena without you. Maybe if you took the place of that other Makoto…"

Makoto gasped and sat up. "I'll do it!" she cried. "If I cut my hair and get blue color contacts, then…then I'd look just like her, right? I can take her place!"

"You would do that for me?"

"Of course I would!"

Cody laughed a bit. "But what would we tell the other Makoto? 'You're free to go'?"

"Um…we could tell her…I have no idea," Makoto admitted.

"Did you say I'm free to go?"

Makoto squeaked in alarm and turned. Standing by the entrance to the room was the other Makoto, who definitely hadn't been there three seconds ago. The Makoto we're currently focusing on nodded slowly.

Other Makoto grunted. "Good luck with those freaks," she muttered. "I want to stay in the arena but these people…be sure to kill them, OK? Because if you don't win and you make me look bad, I'll hunt you down and kill you."

"Dude, we live in different worlds…you can't find me."

"I have my ways." A slight blush lit her cheeks. "Um…stay away from Karasu, OK? He has to die, but I wouldn't suggest going near him."

"You just don't want him getting hurt, huh?"

"Sh-shut up! I'm out of here." Huffing loudly, Other Makoto turned and stalked out of the building.

Somewhere with the Gamemakers, Grace planned a way to somehow get both Makotos into the arena at the same time.

Original Makoto chuckled. "Well, that takes care of things," she chimed. "OK desu…! (AND: I JUST HAD A FANGIRL HEART ATTACK) I'm going to get dressed and go get a …let's call it midnight haircut and some contacts, and then I'll be right back, OK? Feel free to watch me dress if you want~"

"I'll give you your privacy," Cody said. He lay back down and put his head on the pillow, occasionally peeking over at Makoto. When the girl had finished changing, she leaned down and gave Cody a quick kiss and a "goodnight" before hurrying out the door.

Late at night Makoto returned and immediately stripped naked again, and then the two of them lay in a bed and had sex, and LOLIMMACAT and I actually wrote all the details out and stuff but it was really gross and painful to us (this will be further explained in the A/N) so I decided not to actually write it up.

Oh yeah, and Karasu walked in on them having sex and smirkingly told Cody to keep his hands off of "Karasu's" girl, and then threatened to kill him.

Yeah.

Please read the A/N. Things will make so much sense if you do.

**A/N: You know that A/N I mentioned? I meant this one.**

**LOLIMMACAT is in love with Cody (even though he's her own OC, but that's OK. We all have those moments.) and I am in love with Makoto, so the whole time we were doing this we were commentating and begging them to stahp, but unfortunately those two have minds of their own. **

**In another roleplay I'm doing with LOLIMMACAT, Cody and Makoto have known each other for a while and they're in love and blahbbity blah, so that's where this came from.**

**I will disclose that the sex scene mentioned earlier involved lots of sucking (heh heh...that sounds funny :3) and stroking and touching and French kissing. And cluelessness. And it was fun and very adorable.**

**And once during the scene, Karasu walked inon them having sex and was all smirking and just being like "hey yo you people, I think that's the Makoto from my world but it's not, but I'm gonna rape her in the arena so, you, bro, need to keep your hands off, and it's a shame I couldn't be the one to steal her virginity." **

**Which, of course, made Makoto and Cody very mad.**

**Anyhow.**

**The arena is next, you guys! I'm excited!**


	9. The Bloodbath

"We're gonna die." Hibiki nodded decisively as she said this.  
Touma nodded. "I know."  
"Touma-kun, you're such a downer. I really think you should lighten up," Miki suggested, a smile on her face. She took Touma's hand. "Let's go, OK?"  
Touma smiled. Ever since their conversation last night. Miki had been making a real effort to actually speak normally. She smiled back, even bigger, and then stepped onto her metal plate that would take her to the arena.  
"Alright," Touma sighed. "Let's go, you guys." He stepped onto his plate. The others followed.

**xXxXx**

Reishirou took a deep breath. This was it. This was the moment when he would step into that arena and try desperately not to get killed. This was the moment where he would fight for his own survival, to return home to his family, to provide them with a better life. He looked at Shuri and Yoh.  
Shuri ran instantly into the canister to go up, then ran back out and gave Yoh a quick hug before returning to the canister. The tall, boyish-looking Yoh smiled at her, waved, and then looked at Reishirou and dipped her head to him slightly. Then she, too, walked into the canister.  
Reishirou took a deep breath and stepped into his canister.  
_This is it._  
The canisters rose.

**xXxXx**

Makoto drummed her fingers on her leg. _Don't let them find out, Makoto. It's OK. You look just like her, right? _She looked at her new co-workers. _Alliances. Was I in some sort of alliance? Hm...  
_She jabbed Karasu in the arm with her pointer finger. "You."  
"Me what?"  
"Alliances. Was I in one?"  
"Wouldn't you know better than me?" Karasu suggested. He grabbed her hand and slipped his other arm around her waist. Makoto slapped him with her free hand and got away, frowning.  
"I had a really realistic dream last night, OK? Now just answer the question." _This is weird. I wouldn't normally address him so cruelly, even though he does kind of scare me..._  
"Last night while you were having sex with that Leftovers kid?" Karasu pressed, a twinkle in his eye.  
Makoto blushed. "I...you...j-just forget you ever saw that!" she snapped.  
Karasu sighed. "And just after we were having so much fun..."  
"What are you..."  
"I don't remember you running off."  
"Forget it!" Makoto huffed, her face bright red. "A-and besides, he's not just some Leftovers kid. His name is Cody, and he's going to marry me when we get out of here. So there!" A satisfied grin flashed across her face before she realized what an out-of-character moment that had been and scowled.  
Karasu raised an eyebrow at her. "Is that so...?" he murmured. "That just means I'll have even more fun than I thought raping you in that arena. I was serious about that, you know."  
"You keep your hands off of me!" Makoto hissed, crossing her arms. _Darn it. I hope he doesn't suspect anything. This is ridiculously dangerous.  
_Karasu walked into his canister, smirking. "You'd better hope I never see you in that arena...Sweetheart." Makoto suddenly felt a blanket of dread fall over her and she shuddered.  
_Cody...I really hope this is worth it...  
_Slowly, the canisters rose.  
_Please stay safe..._

**xXxXx**

Cody took a deep breath and stepped up onto the metal plate and looked up. There was metal blocking the way. "Oh, great, if this squishes me, I'll be killed even faster." he muttered under his breath. _I just hope Makoto will stay safe. What with that creep Karasu around._ Cody thought. Then, the plate started to move upwards. He panicked a tiny bit, but the metal plate above him opened and revealed the sky. It was sunny with no clouds. _Okay, this is good. _The canister rose a bit more and he saw snow in the distance. _Crap! At least it's off in the distance._ he thought. He saw the giant metal Cornucopia and braced himself to run.

Amber slowly climbed inside the glass canister and looked around. "Great. I'm in a giant tube and about to be raised into a giant arena filled with people who want to freaking kill me. Perfect." she muttered. She crossed her arms and looked at Elizabeth. "We're on an alliance, right?" she asked. Elizabeth, who was standing next to Amber in her canister, smiled and nodded.

"Remember, grab some stuff and try not to be killed. I'll run a quarter mile northeast from the Cornucopia," she said. Amber nodded. "Wait, scratch that. I'll grab both of our things, you just wait for me at the treeline, if there is one." Amber sighed and looked up as her metal plate raised up.

Elizabeth slowly took in a few breaths. After deciding what to do when the canisters rose completely, she was worried. _What if I don't make it to her and someone gets her? What if someone gets her from the start?_ she thought, although she didn't let her expressions show that she was worried for the poor girl next to her.

** xXxXx**

The countdown began. Every tribute who would participate in the bloodbath braced themselves to run for the Cornucopia, while the others prepared to run elsewhere.

Forty-five seconds.

Yoh looked around, searching for a nice place to hide. Eventually, her eyes settled on a half-hidden cave entrance somewhere in the snow and she nodded. That was where she was headed.

Next to her, Shuri kept her eye on a box of bullets stacked in the Cornucopia. She would need them.

Reishirou observed the two girls from his world, then turned to the Cornucopia. Those bullets would be his.

Thirty seconds.

Makoto took deep breaths to calm herself down. _Relax. Just relax. You're fast, Makoto. Really, really fast. Just run in there, grab a backpack, and run away. Find Cody. Hook up. Run._  
Karasu smirked at her from his place beside her. All he had to do was get that girl to warm up to him the slightest bit, and then he could kill her. His affections had always just been a scam, anyways.

Iori kept her eyes on the treeline, prepared to run for the grove of pines the first chance she got. Iori was smart-she knew that if she went to the Cornucopia, she would be killed. So she would run.

Hibiki watched the others with interest. To him, these Games had always been just that-games. And Hibiki was good at games.

Fifteen seconds.

Miki wished she could reach across and grab Touma's hand. Although he acted tough, she knew that the auburn-haired idol was terrified out of his wits. He was sweating wildly and taking multiple deep breaths. His eyes constantly flicked from Miki to Shouta, as if trying to decide which one of them was more important to save. Miki wanted to hug him for it.

Hibiki smirked and stared at the heap of stuff in the Cornucopia. She would use her agility to an advantage and grab something, and hopefully she wouldn't die along the way. Because that would stink.  
Ryo stared at Makoto. That was his alliance. That icy-eyed girl was his only friend out there. And everyone else was going to kill him. The thought of having his old mentor there excited him, though. He knew that the second Makoto ran for something, he would follow her. No matter what.

Three seconds.  
Two  
One.  
_Ding_  
The tributes bolted off of their plates. Those that were going towards the Cornucopia did so.

Reishirou and Shuri reached the box of bullets at the same time. "No way, Mister!" Shuri hissed. "These are mine! Back off or die right here!"  
Instead of answering, Reishirou dared to reach down and grab the box. He ran, but Shuri was faster. She caught up to him quickly and released the guns from her arms, shooting at him, and by the end of thirty seconds, the First Student Council president was dead on the floor, blood gushing from the holes Shuri had given him. She smiled and lifted the box of bullets from under his body, then ran into the distance.

The only two iDOLM STER tributes who didn't run for the Cornucopia were Ryo and Touma. Touma gasped in alarm. "Idiots!" he cried. "What the heck are they doing?! MIKI! SHOUTA!"  
His cries were drowned out by the loud, agonized screams of the girl he'd come to love.  
He stared, his mouth agape, as Miki's bloody, sliced-up-and-shot body crumpled to the ground, revealing Karasu with a knife standing, smirking, over her. The man reached down to collect the backpack Miki had gotten as his reward, but Yoh suddenly swooped in and grabbed the pack, hitting Karasu in the stomach with the hilt of the katana she'd grabbed along the way to slow him down. Then she darted off towards the snow. Touma stared at Miki's body, then, for some reason, he took off towards the Cornucopia. Two cannon shots were heard, and then there was a period of silence before another cry of pain was heard. Touma watched, horrified, as Iori Minase slammed a giant sledgehammer into the side of Shouta's brain, bashing his skull in and successfully killing him.  
"NO!" Touma yelled, running to his friend's side. Iori looked at him as if she would kill him, then decided it wasn't worth it and ran away. Touma collapsed next to Shouta's body, but by the time he reached him, the youngest tribute to come from their world had already died. Touma stood slowly. _I'm sorry..._ He looked to the snow, then at everyone else, and seemingly decided the snow was the best option. After another, pained glance at Miki and Shouta's bodies, he ran for it.

Makoto grabbed the backpack at the same time as Hibiki Ganaha. Both girls' heads snapped up and their eyes met. Hibiki screamed.

"P-please don't kill me!" she cried. "Here! Take the backpack! Ya can have it! Just...p-please!"  
"I'm not going to kill you!" Makoto insisted. "...Hibiki, you're my friend! Why would I..." She paused and her eyes widened. "I-I mean..."  
"Makoto?" Hibiki whispered. "My..._my _Makoto?! W-what 're ya doin' here?! Where's the other Makoto?!"  
"Shh!" Makoto hissed. "I took the other Makoto's place in the arena to be with Cody...please don't blow my cover!"  
"Your eyes're blue!"  
"I got contacts..."  
"An' a haircut?" Hibiki laughed in relief. "Ah, thank goodness...! Please, Makoto, help a fella out and lemme team up with ya!"  
Makoto blinked. "I don't know how Cody will feel, but..." She gasped and suddenly tackled Hibiki to the floor. A knife flew over their heads. Makoto cursed under her breath, grabbed Hibiki's hand, and pulled her to her feet. "Come on!" she shouted. "We have to get out of here! Come on!"  
Together, the two girls ran for a random pine tree where they waited for Cody. Ryo found them first, but remained hidden until Cody showed up. If the boy showed approval for Hibiki, it was likely he would allow Ryo in the alliance too, but if he rejected her, then the young boy would be better up teaming up with the rejected dance master than with Makoto and Cody. So he waited.

Cody dashed over to the Cornucopia, not daring to tear his gaze away. He spotted a few knives on a table that looked to be of some use. Avoiding people that were fighting, he grabbed two backpacks instead of one and shoved five knives into one of them. He looked around and dashed out, avoiding Hermione, who had cast a spell towards him. And, judging by its color, it didn't seem like a friendly one. Then he remembered something.

"Makoto? MAKOTO!?" he yelled, hoping she would answer him, but his voice was drowned out by a cannon booming. He looked over and saw Hermione fall to the ground with a dagger lodged in her back, her face was crumpled with pain. Cody ran as fast he could towards the treeline calling Makoto's name.

Hibiki looked over and spotted Cody running. She flinched. "That 'im?" she whispered, nudging Makoto. Makoto grinned. "Yeah, that's him. Isn't he hot?" She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Hey, Cody! I'm over here!"  
"Don't scream at 'im!" Hibiki hissed. "You'll catch unwanted attention! C'mon, we gotta meet up with 'im. This way."  
Makoto smiled sheepishly. "Right, sorry. You have the backpack, right?"  
"It's right here."  
"Good."  
Ryo followed the girls from behind the tree while they approached Cody. When they had gotten close enough to call out to him without screaming, Makoto called his name again. Ryo stayed hidden, watching.

Cody looked in the direction of Makoto's voice. "Makoto, there you are!" he exclaimed and jogged over to her. Then his expression changed from a relieved smile to a deadly serious scowl. "What's she doing here?" he asked, pointing his sword in Hibiki's direction.

Hibiki screeched and hid behind Makoto, who waved her hands wildly. "No, no! Don't worry! This is Hibiki Ganaha. She's my friend."  
"Don't kill me!" Hibiki begged. "Makoto's my friend! An' the two o' ya are gettin' married, right? Don't kill your fiance's friends! That'll leave bad impressions!"  
Behind his tree, Ryo flinched. So far, he assumed he would definitely not be welcome. He continued to wait.  
Makoto sighed. "Calm down, Cody. She just wants to team up with us. If you don't want her here then that's OK. But I'd like to take care of her."  
Hibiki nodded furiously.

Cody lowered his sword. "Fine, she can stay," he muttered. "Let's go find some place to stay for a few nights. Then we'll scout out a lake or something." He started walking, and then turned suddenly. "You can go ahead, girls, I'll catch up in a minute." he said, and walked past them, towards Ryo.

Ryo flinched and slowly slid out from behind the tree. "Um..." He trailed off, suddenly quite frightened. _He accepted Hibiki-san. I'll be fine. Just say something..._ "Um...I was...Makoto-san and I were...it was a tentative alliance but I think it still...um..." He paused. "I...really don't want to die."  
Makoto let out a cry of delight and ran to him. "Ryo! It's you! You're looking as cute as ever, darn you...you weren't killed in the bloodbath? That's great!"  
Ryo blinked. "...Makoto-san?"  
"Yup!"  
"...wait...didn't you...I thought...what?"  
Makoto blinked back. "Wait...oh yeah, that's right! You would have met me when I was still Other Makoto. Hey, yeah, so, it's actually me now. We switched. And. Um. This is...wow, I really have to stop telling people that..."  
Ryo laughed awkwardly. "Ah...so it's my Makoto-san now," he muttered.  
"MY Makoto!" Hibiki snapped, clinging defensively to her new "bodyguard". "She's protectin' me! Go find your own!"  
"He can stay too, right?" Makoto asked Cody. "Right? I used to be his mentor so he's a good friend..."

Cody sighed. "I guess, fine," he said. "Now lets go before anyone sees us." He turned and started walking.

Ryo let out a breath of relief. "Thank you," he sighed.  
Makoto grinned. "OK, Ryo! Just stick with us. And let's get going." She followed Cody. Ryo and Hibiki followed her.

Elizabeth dashed over to the Cornucopia, jumping over Miki's body. She grabbed a backpack for her and one for Amber, a few weapons, a bag of food, and ran, Amber was waiting for her in a tree. "Stay as close to the Cornucopia as you can. After everyone is gone and hiding, we can rush in and take the rest of the stuff." she said. Amber nodded and helped Elizabeth up the tree by taking some of the stuff in her hands and hoisting it up into the tree.

"I guess we're camping here for the night?" Amber asked. Elizabeth nodded and hauled herself into the tree, grabbed a backpack, and rummaged through it.

"Water canteen... Rope... Jacket... Fire-starter? Oh well... And then there's some medicine in the bottom" she reported. Amber nodded and peered in.

Hawkfrost ran as fast as he could. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder and a few knives in his mouth. He hurdled over Hermione's and Miki's bodies and raced towards the trees. _Come on, Hawkfrost, you can do it. Only a few more meters..._ he thought. He then ran with all the energy he had left. He made the mistake of looking back, only to run into a tree. Hard. He fell backwards, unconscious.

Firestar swooped Gylfie off her feet and ran. Gylfie had already got enough weapons and food to support them both. Not to mention she had accidentally killed Hermione by slipping and throwing the daggers everywhere. But now she was unconscious and he had to get her somewhere to tend to her head, which was bleeding from the fall.

"It's ok, Gylfie, we're almost there." he said, running through the snowy forest. Finally, he had found a small shelter that would do for a few nights; a fallen, hollow log that was big enough for a grown man to stand in. He set the small girl down and collected some snow to out on her head. After he had done that, he wrapped it in a small pouch hanging from his side and put it on her head. She twitched. "It's ok, Gylfie. I'm gonna help you. Just go to sleep." he said soothingly.

Frodo knew better than to get in the middle of things. He raced to the treeline and climbed up a tree and waited for the rest of the tributes. "Ok, Legolas. When everybody leaves, we should- Hey where'd you go?" he said as he looked over. His shoulder and realized that his elf friend wasn't behind him. His eyes searched for Legolas and saw him sitting on top of the Cornucopia and looking at all the fighting people.

Legolas waved when he saw Frodo.

Frodo facepalmed himself and walked over to him. "Legolas! I thought I said to stick together!" he yelled. Legolas shrugged and held up a backpack and weapons. Frodo snatched them from the elf and stormed off.

"Okay, fine, I'm sorry. Frodo wait up." he said and jogged over to him.


	10. Alliances

"Shuri Kurosaki?"  
"Right here!"  
"And Karasu."  
"I've been right next to you the whole time, Hibiki."  
"Right. This is really all we've got, huh?"  
Karasu sighed. "You'd be surprised how many people hate me," he muttered.  
The group was currently stationed a little ways away from the middle of the forest around a big pond. Hibiki had been smart enough to grab a couple of backpacks, a spear, and a bucket with which they could get some water. Shuri had two boxes of extra bullets (she had found another after stealing the one from Reishirou) and Karasu could have gotten yet another backpack, but his winnings had been stolen by Yoh.  
"Great. Our alliance is three people," Shuri sighed. "This isn't-"  
"Fighter," Karasu suddenly declared, pointing at her. He pointed at Hibiki. "Strategic." Then he pointed at himself. "And hunter. We're missing a nerd."  
"...what?"  
"That Hawkfrost kid said something to me about the basic build-up of an alliance," Karasu mused. "Kid's gonna die but he gave some good advice."  
"Alright..."  
"And he said to try to get a fighter, a hunter, a strategic, and a nerd. We're missing our nerd."  
"I can help with that."  
All three fighters turned. Standing in the trees was Iori Minase.  
Karasu stood slowly. "What do you mean?"  
"I studied plants and stuff in training," Iori said, "to be prepared. If you let me in the alliance, I'll help you."  
Karasu stared at her. "...what do you two think? We kill her now, or we let her in?"  
"She could be useful," Shuri remarked. "I saw her kill a kid with a sledgehammer. And if she knows about plants, then..."  
Karasu looked at Hibiki, who shrugged and nodded. Karasu faced Iori again, who pounded her sledgehammer on her hand.  
"Welcome to the alliance."

**xXxXx**

Yoh panted and fell into the snow, scooping up a small handful of the white powder. _This whole tundra is full of water sources, _she realized. _And I have that cave, too. Let's hope this backpack has some way to start a fire, otherwise I could freeze. I'll have to be smart about using food...but if I get thirsty, all I really need to do is walk outside and eat some snow, right? Coming to the snow may have been a really good idea after all. And I think I'm alone..._

She looked down at the katana she still gripped in her hand from the Cornucopia. Originally, she hadn't planned on going to the large metal horn, but when she'd spotted the blade of this sword glinting from the pile, she had been determined to get it.  
"Hey you."  
Yoh froze and dropped the snow from her hands. She gripped the handle of the katana tighter.  
"You're that girl who got an eleven during training."  
"Yes, that's me," Yoh answered the voice. She paused and added, "I got that score for a good reason."  
"I can tell. You didn't die in the bloodbath so obviously you must be a little bit skilled." The stranger took a few steps. Without turning around, Yoh jumped to her feet and gripped the katana in both hands. The stranger stopped.  
"Calm down, alright? I'm not going to hurt you. I don't even have any weapons," their voice admitted. Yoh turned around and saw the boy from the iDOLM STER world staring back at her-the one with the auburn hair. He looked away. "Tch. Everyone is so jumpy here. If you want to kill me, go ahead."  
Yoh lowered her weapon. "I thought you were...someone else. Weren't you in an alliance?"  
The boy's eyes grew sad. "Two of them died and the other two ran off. I'm alone."  
"That's a shame." Yoh paused. "I am too."  
"I'm not asking to be in an alliance, but-"  
"Don't worry," Yoh cut in. She dropped the katana to show she meant no harm and took a step closer, holding out her hand. "I'm Susugihara. Yoh Susugihara."  
"Touma Amagase," the boy responded, taking her hand and shaking it.  
"Nice to meet you, Amagase-kun."  
"...nice to meet you too, I guess. Look, I just wanted to make sure there wouldn't be any trouble while I was here. I have no intention of winning these Games. It doesn't matter to me if you leave me to freeze to death."  
"That's a terrible way to think," Yoh sighed. "Here. Why don't you stick with me? I can help you."  
"Help me?" Touma echoed. "Oh yeah, because this is the Hunger Games. _Everyone _is helping each other."  
"I'm serious. I wouldn't mind sharing my shelter with you. I can be...your bodyguard, in a sense. I have no one else to take care of, and so I may as well care for someone without...a lot of fighting sense," Yoh said carefully.  
Touma raised an eyebrow. "What's your reason?"  
"I have no reason to win the Games either."  
"...that's it, huh?"  
"You could say...I'm like a lonely woman who has grown prone to taking in strays."  
Touma chuckled. "You're weird," he stated bluntly. "...thanks, I guess. I won't stay long. Just long enough to get on my feet, and then I'll be gone."  
"That's fine. Right this way."

** xXxXx**

Kuroi looked over at Grace. "So that's Miki, Reishirou, Shouta, and Hermione. 8 more tributes until I can release Mira. And I guess I should have warned them about Gollum..." she said, trailing off.

Grace nodded. "I guess so."  
"Hey you two."  
Grace started and looked around. "Who's there?"  
Icy blue eyes gleamed from the darkness, and slowly, the owner of the eyes emerged from the shadows, locking her gaze on the Gamemakers.  
"I want to go back in the arena. Get me in there."  
Grace raised an eyebrow. "Well...there might be one way...but I don't think you'll like it..."  
The eyes narrowed. "Show me."

** xXxXx**

Hawkfrost sat up, rubbing his head. "Geez, that hurt." he mumbled. He stood up and steadied himself. _Ok, now to find a shelter. I could make one in a tree?_ he thought, and looked up. He got some rope out of his backpack and made a few traps with one piece of rope, and started tying necessary things that he needed up in the tree with another. Before climbing up, he tied a really heavy rock to one end of the rope, and his waist on the other. He swirled the end with the rock above his head for a few moments and threw it until it landed and got stuck in a branch. "Yeees." he said, and started climbing up the tree. A few seconds later, he heard footsteps as he was making a small hut. He looked down and saw two of the three Middle Earth tributes.

Frodo turned to Legolas. "When are we going to find a place to make a shelter? My feet are freezing!" he complained. Legolas shrugged. Another thing came crashing through the forest. Legolas turned, his eyes widening. "It's Shelob! Run Legolas!" Frodo shouted.

But Legolas was too shocked to run. Shelob burst from the trees, knocking a few down and narrowly missing the small hobbit. Frodo grabbed his stuff and ran behind a tree. Legolas finally realized that it was a threat and threw himself at the spider avoiding the venomous fangs, and landed on top of her.

"Run Frodo, I'll catch up!" he shouted. Frodo nodded and ran off. He tripped but then picked himself back up and ran. The spider reared up, threw Legolas to the ground, covered him with web, and ran off. "Oh come on!" he yelled.

** xXxXx**

Firestar left the small ice pack on Gylfie's head and walked outside, collecting some more snow. He put all of it in the water canteen and dug out the fire starter, which was basically a lighter, turned it on, and placed it underneath the canteen to melt the snow into water. Then, he walked back inside the log. He poured some of the water onto Gylfie's head to wash some of the blood off, and went back outside.

** xXxXx**

Elizabeth and Amber waited until everyone had finally left the Cornucopia. She turned to the younger girl. "Ready?" she asked. Amber smiled and nodded, holding up an empty backpack. Elizabeth smiled and hopped out of the tree with Amber at her side. "Try to take as much stuff as possible and try not to let anyone see you." Elizabeth advised. Amber nodded and ran off to the Cornucopia and Elizabeth followed with the other backpack.

"Food, water, anything you can find!" Amber shouted. Elizabeth was already grabbing at weapons and food. Amber rummaged around, trying to find something with water in it.

"Hey, look, they haven't taken Hermione's body yet. We could search and see if she has anything useful." Elizabeth suggested. Amber shrugged and nodded. They both walked over to her body. Amber pried the dagger out of Hermione's back and stuffed it into her backpack while Elizabeth turned her over and looked through her pockets. She pulled out a few weapons and food and Amber grabbed Hermione's backpack, slinging it over her shoulder.

"Extra supplies." she told Elizabeth. Elizabeth's head suddenly went up and her eyes searched the forest.

"I hear someone. Amber, get down." she hissed. Amber nodded and ran behind the Cornucopia. Elizabeth grabbed her sword and slowly stood up.

** xXxXx**

_This is perfect,_ Iori thought to herself._ Since they've let me in they trust me now, right? So at night, I can wipe them all out without any problem. Iori Minase, you are a genius._  
"So. Minase," Karasu began, "that kid you killed. Who was it?"  
"Some guy from the iDOLM STER world, I think," Iori answered. "I didn't mean to kill him. I just heard someone behind me and freaked out and swung my hammer, and I hit him in the head."  
"Is that so..."  
_Darn it. I should have said something that sounded vicious and bloodthirsty. OK, Iori...calm down. Think. You can save yourself. _"I...really enjoyed seeing the look of pain on his face, though. Watching the blood well in his head...was satisfying." _Ew, that blood was gross...!_  
Karasu smiled slightly. "Yes, it's a wonderful feeling, isn't it? Hibiki. You're the only one here who hasn't killed someone yet."  
"Sorry," Hibiki sighed. "I'll take care of things eventually. Don't worry." He flashed Iori a smile. "I don't take well to traitors, after all."  
Iori nodded absently. _...shoot. This was a horrible idea._

**xXxXx**

Shelob tore down any trees on her way, not caring if one of her legs got stuck in them. Maria hung on tightly to her neck.

"After that run-in with that Middle Earth guy, you seem pretty shaken up." she said.

Maria nodded. "He was kinda cute though." she said.

Shelob let out multiple hissing sounds that were probably laughter. "Not really. For me anyways. I'm just a giant spider. I could easily kill every person in here without even trying." Shelob boasted.

Maria chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Hang on tight, I see more people up ahead." Shelob warned. Maria hung on even tighter to the spider's neck as she crashed through the trees, knocking some down, and into the middle of the Xenoglossia group made up of Iori, Hibiki, Shuri, and Karasu.

Karasu instantly jumped to his feet and grabbed a gun. Hibiki scurried behind a tree. Iori screamed and held the hammer in front of herself defensively. Shuri unloaded the guns from her body.  
The alliance stared at the giant spider, and on the girl riding it. Karasu aimed his gun at Shelob's head.  
"I suggest you two get out of here before you die!" he shouted, letting a couple bullets loose. Everyone else was perfectly still.

Shelob didn't seem fazed by Karasu's gun, she just kept rampaging through their little "camp". Then she turned to Karasu with venom dripping down her fangs.

"Should I kill him or poison him?" she asked Maria.

Maria responded in Spider language. "Poison him. I want him to have a slow painful death." she said. Shelob let out her hissing laugh again and stared Karasu straight in the eyes. Then she lunged at him, making him drop his gun and send it skittering across the ground, pinning him down with all of her eight legs.

"Cover your eyes, Maria." she demanded. Maria turned away and a sound like that of squishing a cockroach was made as Shelob bit into Karasu's arm and injected her venom. He let out a scream and tried to get out from under Shelob's grasp, but the giant spider weighed much more than him. She held his arms and legs down even more as he squirmed.

"Maria, could you shut him up, please?" she asked. Maria nodded, slid off of Shelob and hit Karasu in the head with the bottom of her knife, knocking him unconscious. Then, she whirled around and flung Iori at a tree with one of her legs, which made a sickening cracking sound as Iori hit it.

"That is the only time I will use you." Shelob said. Maria smiled and climbed back on Shelob, and looked at the girl with a sledgehammer. A cannon sounded, signaling that she was dead.

Hibiki slowly emerged from behind his tree, applauding, while Shuri fell beside Karasu's writhing body. Iori's corpse slumped to the ground, and Hibiki paused to look at it.  
"Quite a show, you guys," he murmured.

"You bastard!" Shuri lashed. "Hiding like a stupid little coward...da** you!"  
Hibiki chuckled. "It's not my fault. I was being smart," he pointed out. Shuri growled and turned back to Karasu.  
"You OK, man?" she murmured. "Geez...what the heck is that thing..."  
Karasu cursed under his breath and scowled. "Well, whatever it is-" He broke off with a cry. "-it's done something to me. And it hurts." He glared at Hibiki. "Where the he** were you during all this?!"  
Hibiki shrugged. "Being smart. Unlike..." He looked at Iori's body and laughed. "Well, we should move our camp, OK?"  
Shuri hissed. "I'll carry him. Come on, let's go."

** xXxXx**

Elizabeth ran towards Amber. "Giant spider, run. Now." she ordered. Amber nodded and ran back to the trees with all of their new supplies.

"We should make a shelter, now that we have all the food supplies and stuff. Plus, we have extra rope now." Amber said.

Elizabeth nodded. "Find something really quick, just stay in sight of me." she said as Amber walked off.

** xXxXx**

Hawkfrost turned back to what he was doing and started breaking branches off of the tree so that he had more room to move. "Ok so that goes there, and that goes there…no, that doesn't look right..." he muttered. He broke one more branch off and started weaving a small walkway between his tree and the one next to it.

**xXxXx**

"This is our shelter?" Touma sighed.  
Yoh nodded, advancing towards the half-hidden cave. "It's perfect. A roof over our heads, covering from the winds, and the entrance is practically completely hidden."  
"It's...a dirty cave," Touma declared. "How will I sleep here?"  
"If you need a pillow..." Yoh paused and shrugged. "You can use me."  
"That's..." Touma blushed. "Why the heck...?"  
"Or a backpack. Take your pick."  
"...Backpack."  
"Then, let's set up."  
Slowly, the two walked inside and began unpacking the backpack that Yoh had stolen.

** xXxXx**

Legolas finally managed to untangle himself from the web when he heard a cannon sounded. "Frodo?" he called out.

"Over here." Frodo answered. Legolas sighed in relief and walked over to his Hobbit friend.

"Scared me there for a minute. Well, anyways, I have spider silk. We could do something with it." he suggested. Frodo shrugged.

**xXxXx**

Cody trudged ahead of the group thinking about what he should do. _Ryo doesn't seem to be any threat. He can stay unless he's a spy for that Karasu guy,_ he thought. He stopped and looked around. Snow was falling all around them. He saw a small lake and a hole that led underneath it. "I'm gonna check this out, guys. I'll be right back," he called to them he jogged over to the hole and hopped in. "I never thought I'd be under a lake." he muttered, looking up at the frozen water above his head.

Ryo fiddled with his hands. _Don't worry. You've been accepted. Calm down. No one will hurt you. So why is...why is my heart pounding so hard?_  
"Are you scared?"  
The quiet murmur caught him off-guard. He jumped and turned to find Makoto smiling at him.  
"Ah..." Ryo trailed off. "Um...a little."  
Makoto giggled. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you." Slowly, she reached out and grabbed his hand. "See? I'm right here, and as long as I am, I won't let anyone hurt you."  
Ryo blushed. "I...th-thank you, Makoto-san," he muttered.  
Makoto smiled again. "No problem...Ryo."


	11. Misunderstandings

Ryo sighed. "It's cold out here..."  
"You're cold?" Makoto piped. "I'm warm." She wrapped her arms around him, smiling. "See?"  
Ryo blushed. "Um...y-yes, you are very warm...and soft..."  
"What?"  
"N-nothing! I-I didn't mean anything by it..."  
"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Hibiki suddenly screeched, throwing a large snowball at Ryo. He yelped and jumped slightly, knocking Makoto off-balance, and the two of them tumbled to the floor, Ryo on top and Makoto on bottom. Ryo blushed, noting how awkward it would look to the outside world. Hibiki snickered. Makoto blinked.

Cody walked out of the ice-cave. "It's really nice down th- WHAT THE H*** ARE YOU DOING?!" he yelled, looking at Ryo with an angry yet surprised look on his face.

Ryo squeaked and jumped off of Makoto, waving his hands wildly. "N-no, please...! Y-you don't understand, I-I wasn't...I got hit and I fell and then...please don't kill me!"  
Hibiki snickered again, obviously amused.  
Makoto stood slowly and brushed herself off. "He's telling the truth, Cody. He just tripped. It's OK," she soothed.  
Ryo nodded frantically and hid behind her.  
Makoto giggled and patted his head. "Aw~, Cody, you scared him. Calm down, Ryo. I won't let him hurt you."

Cody glared at Ryo, and then Makoto, then back at Ryo again. Then he looked at Hibiki. "Hibiki, how did this start." he said, making it sound like more of an order than a question. His eyes were still narrow, and his hand was fiddling with the knife in his left pocket.

Hibiki grinned, her fang gleaming. "Well, ya see, Makoto got tired so she lay down, an' then this li'l guy crawled over 'er with a smile, declarin' his lastin' love," she purred.

Ryo blushed. "I-I did not! You threw a snowball at me and I tripped and fell on top of her! I...I-I just tripped..."

Makoto blinked. "Wait...what?" She shook her head. "Cody, nothing's going on. Chill down."

Cody sighed. "Okay, fine. I believe your story, Makoto. But Hibiki, one more false move and I'm gonna tie you to a tree and leave you there for Shelob." he said. He then turned around and walked off towards the forest and turned back towards the group, waiting for them to follow.

Hibiki raised her hands in surrender. "No problemo, bro. Ya got me. 'Kay~, let's go inside~"

Makoto started off inside. "Hey, Ryo, if you get scared then you can come over here and sleep with me~. I wouldn't mind."

Ryo forced himself not to blush. "Right. I...I think I'll be fine."

"And as for you, Cody," Makoto began, "don't hurt my friends or I'll hurt you. OK. I love you, hon~"

Cody silently rolled his eyes when she wasn't looking. _I just wanted it to be the two of us..._ he thought. He slid down in the hole underneath the lake and picked out a spot to sleep in. He unrolled his sleeping bag. A drop of water hit his face. "Oh, come on." he muttered. He lay down and closed his eyes.

**xXxXx**

Elizabeth and Amber walked through the forest after they had run a good distance from the Cornucopia. Amber had an apple in her hand and was eating it happily as she hummed a tune that was unfamiliar to Elizabeth, who also had an apple in hand.

"So, I was thinking of finding a cave or something to camp in for the night." she said.

Amber nodded. "I know a lot about trees. We could sleep in one of those." she suggested.

Elizabeth took another bite of her apple. "I guess we could do that." she said. Amber stopped and looked at a tree.

"This one should do." she said, and started climbing the tree. Her apple was not so lucky, as it had fallen to the ground and rolled off.

Elizabeth waited for Amber to climb all the way up before she started climbing.

"This seems pretty nice. You get a clear view of the forest from here." Amber reported.

Elizabeth nodded and looked around. "Hey look, it's those Xenoglossia tributes." she pointed out. Amber turned her head and looked where Elizabeth was pointing.

"Hm. You're right. I wonder what they're doing." she mumbled.

"See? I told you there was a cabin here," Hibiki said proudly, gesturing to the cabin he'd found. "Let's stay here."  
Shuri sniffed. "Whatever, Hibiki. Don't worry, Karasu. You'll be nice and comfy in here, right?"  
Karasu coughed and made a moaning sound. Shuri smiled and carried him inside, laying him against the wall.  
"OK. We'll camp here."

**xXxXx**

A strange voice came from the back of Yoh and Touma's cave. "Precioussssss. Where is my precious? This would've never happened if you had friendses. Shut up! No, you! Not listening!"

Yoh whirled towards the sound. "You heard that...right?" she asked Touma in a whisper.  
Touma nodded slowly.  
"Stay here," Yoh ordered, gripping her katana. "Who's there? Come out where I can see you."

The thing turned towards the two. "What was thatses? I don't know, why don't you check it out? Why don't you? Okay fine. Stupid bumbling- Look its peopleses." It didn't step into the light, it just turned around in the shadows and looked at them with big blue eyes. Clearly there was only one of it, but it sounded like a two-person conversation.

Yoh gripped the katana tighter. "Who are you?" she repeated. "Answer me."  
Touma let out a low growling sound. "What the heck...?"  
Yoh stared into the darkness of the cave, into the eyes gleaming from the darkness, and eventually sat back down. "We don't want to cause any trouble," she called calmly. "If this is your territory, we understand. We'll leave immediately."  
Touma frowned, but didn't say a word. His bodyguard was right, after all. They didn't want any trouble.

The thing stared at Yoh. "No it's fineses, you can stay. What are you talking about? They look like nice peopleses! Whatever! Let them stays, see if I careses." It stepped halfway into the light. It was pale and almost completely hairless. The only thing it was wearing as a loincloth. Its big blue eyes stared Yoh in the face.

Yoh nodded slowly. "Thank you," she said gratefully. "We won't cause any trouble."

"What is that thing?" Touma hissed.

"Something that will likely kill us if we anger it," Yoh answered, looking way too calm for someone who spoke about death.

"What are you talking about? I won't kills you. I will. Shut up! No! Fine, you stupid fat-" he hobbled off back into the shadows, where he became inaudible except for his double personality screaming.

Yoh blinked and shrugged. She lay down. "...well, goodnight."

"It's only...I don't know, evening."

"I'm tired."

"Oh. Fine. Goodnight."

** xXxXx**

The machine opened and the girl stepped out, breathing heavily and looking very weak. She was wearing no clothes but now resembled more of a mannequin than a real human, so it really didn't matter. Her skin was pale grey and there were stitches everywhere. She coughed violently and fell to the ground.  
"You...what did...you do to me?" she gasped.  
Grace smiled, a slightly devious smile. "Welcome to the world, Experiment #17...or shall I say, Makombie." Her smile turned a little dumb-looking. "Ya like it? I came up with that myself. Because you're Makoto, and now you're a zombie!"  
"What did you do to me?!"  
Grace didn't seem fazed at all by the outburst. "After severing your limbs and killing you, we were able to sew you back together and through that machine, bring you back to life in the form of a flesh-hungry zombie. The cravings will come at random times, so be prepared."  
Makoto, or rather Makombie, glared furiously at the Head Gamemaker. "You never told me you would do something like this...!"  
"You want to get in the arena?" Grace lashed. "Do as I say." She clicked her tongue and turned to Kuroi. "Dang it...it was another failure, Kuroi. The perfect muttation is yet to be reached. She suffers too much from human emotion."  
She wrote something on a clipboard and then looked at Makombie.  
"Prepare yourself. You enter the arena at dawn."

Kuroi nodded. Then she turned to the other two small muttations. "Randall, Bloof, you will be entering the arena with Makombie tomorrow morning." she said.

The fat, pudgy one looked at her and took a bite of his donut that he was holding and nodded. He looked at Makombie with a stupid grin on his face.

Makombie growled and lay down on the floor, clearly tired. "Wake me in the morning," she muttered.  
Bloof, the tall and slender brown-haired mutt, leaned back and forth. "'Kay~" he yipped. "Goodnight guys, I'm gonna sleep!"  
Kuroi smiled. "Well, Mira should be out in a bit. I can't wait to see how she kills people this time." she piped, and bounced around a bit.

Grace sighed. "Why can't we get the perfect mutt?" she sighed. "17. This was try number 17! First working mutt was Bloof...or rather, Kimochi, but unless he's hungry he's completely docile. Makombie suffers too much from human emotion, and Randall...well, Randall is Randall. Ugh..."

Kuroi sighed and looked up from Mira's container. "Hopefully 18 will be a success." she said, and looked back down at Mira. "The wait is nearly over, love." she whispered to the small, gray sabertooth-like being.

Mira paced in her giant glass container. She was going to go out in the arena soon. She knew it. Every three Games she would be out. Right now she was small. But when the Gamemakers teleport her to the arena, she'll grow to the size of a lion. Mira was about the size of the average toe.

Kuroi looked at her with gentle eyes. Mira couldn't help but purr. Kuroi had created her a while back for the Quarter Quell, nineteen years ago. Only she wanted to keep her after the Games were done. But after a while, more of the Gamemakers started to warm up to her.

Grace nodded slowly. "...We have to find a new victim-er, subject." She looked over at the sleeping figure of Makombie, then at the stirring Bloof sitting against the wall, and smiled. "Just one more subject..."

Kuroi nodded. "Right." she muttered, watching Mira.

** xXxXx**

Hawkfrost climbed down from his tree and started having his own border patrol. He made a 25 meter perimeter and searched the area for any signs of the other tributes, food, and water. "Nothing really seems to be here..." he muttered.

**xXxXx**

Firestar closed his eyes for a moment and reopened them. He glanced over at Gylfie. She was still asleep with the ice pouch on her head. Ever since the injury, she seemed to be growing paler and paler. It wasn't because of the cold snow, Firestar had checked that. And she wasn't bleeding. Firestar knew what it was, but he didn't like it.

Gylfie was dying.

** xXxXx**

Hawkfrost looked down from his tree. "Maybe I can outlast them." he muttered out loud.

"Not when you're talking so loud that your opponents can hear you." said a voice from below him. He looked down. There stood the blonde elf and the small hobbit.

"At least I can climb faster." he called down. Legolas rolled his eyes.

"Can we come up? We don't really have a shelter." said Frodo. Hawkfrost considered it.

"Fine. But if you try to kill me, I will push you off and make sure you die." he said. Frodo and Legolas both looked at each other, smiled, and started climbing up. Frodo fell once, but then he started climbing again.

Hawkfrost watched the two silently while they climbed up his tree. Finally, they were both up. "The name's Hawkfrost." he said, flipping his hair out of his face. The elf nodded.

"I am Legolas, and this is my friend, Frodo." he said.

"Legolas and Frodo. Got it. So, you got your sleeping bags and stuff? I ain't providing you with any." said Hawkfrost. Frodo nodded.

** xXxXx**

"Look at that!"

Hibiki did as ordered. "Already?"

Floating down from the sky was a small, silver parachute, attached to a bottle of what appeared to be medicine. Hibiki grabbed it and walked back inside, closing the cabin door behind him. He read the bottle label aloud.

"Spider venom antidote. Hm. Must be for Karasu."

"Duh," Shuri lashed, taking the bottle. "Regular dosage is two teaspoons...eh, just take the whole bottle!" She pulled off the cap and slowly poured the contents of the bottle into Karasu's mouth.

Karasu swallowed and then coughed. He fell still and slipped into sleep. Shuri smiled.

Then they waited.

** xXxXx**

Firestar sighed and slumped down against the walls of the log. He had removed Gylfie's ice pack a minute earlier. A cannon sounded. He knew it was Gylfie. He slowly stood up and picked up Gylfie and walked outside and set her down in a small flower patch near their camp. "You were a smart girl." he mumbled as he lay her down. He then walked back inside after putting a flower between her hands.

** xXxXx**

Elizabeth and Amber both looked up at the same time as the cannon sounded. "We should go ahead and set up camp. It's getting dark." said Elizabeth. Amber nodded and started setting her things up. Elizabeth found a large piece of bark and placed it near the entrance of their hollow, making it dark.


	12. The Rise of the Mutts

**(A/N: It's finally here, you guys! Special thanks to Chloe for ACTUALLY RESPONDING TO HER EMAILS so y'all could have this super-long chapter to tie you over until the next time. Sorry for the length, you guys. We tried.)**

Makoto yawned and sat up slowly-or at least tried. She soon discovered that Hibiki had moved around in the night so much that her leg was pinning Makoto's abdomen to the ground. She moaned and nudged the fanged girl. "Hibiki. Get up..."

Hibiki let out a noise that sounded like a whine and rolled off of Makoto.

"Thanks, buddy," Makoto whispered, patting Hibiki's shoulder. Hibiki smiled in her sleep. Makoto moved over to Cody. "Hey, Cody! Hey! It's me! You should wake up. Good morning."

Cody grunted and rolled over. "Don't want to." he mumbled.

Makoto giggled. "Come on." She poked him. "Wake up. If you stay asleep for too long someone might ambush us and then we could die because you were too asleep to help us kill our enemies. Doesn't that sound awful?"

He sighed. "Fine, I'll get up..." he said, sitting up. "If anyone's hungry, me and Ryo'll go hunting." he suggested.

Makoto shook her head. "Not Ryo. He's a little...weak, you know? I'll hunt with you. Not Hibiki, she can't kill animals," she advised. "Good morning~"  
Hibiki screamed and shot up. "No! Not the animals! Leave 'em alone!"  
Makoto looked at her. "Calm down, Hibiki. It was a nightmare," she soothed.  
Hibiki shook her head. "No, ya don't...understand...I was with the Gamemakers, an' there was some kinda weird beast...cat thing! I don't even...an' it was...I can't explain it, it was brutal!"  
"It was a nightmare," Makoto repeated.  
"It was real!" Hibiki sobbed. "There were other things there too...like some kinda dog-boy, a fat kid, and a zombie that looked a lot like ya do, Makoto..."  
"Strange..." Makoto muttered. "Well, you were probably just dreaming up some random nonsense. Cody and I will go hunting and then we can eat. OK?"  
"Please be careful," Hibiki warned. "I don't like this feelin'."  
"We'll be fine."  
Cody nodded and stood up. "Get all of your hunting gear," he told Makoto. He turned around. "We're gonna be gone for an hour or two. Stay safe." he told the two that remained sitting. He turned around and grabbed a bow and a few arrows, a knife, and a sword. He then waited for Makoto.

Makoto grinned and grabbed a couple knives. "OK, that's all. Should we go?"  
"Stay!" Hibiki begged.  
"Hibiki, you'll be fine. Just keep hidden."  
Hibiki nodded slowly. "Be careful, Makoto..."  
"I'll be fine!" Makoto promised. "OK. Let's go."  
Cody walked out of their cave. "I think we should start over there," He pointed west. "And then make our way over there." he said, pointing east, and then south. He turned to Makoto. "What do you think?" he asked her.

Makoto nodded. "Alright, I guess that'll work. Can we not go too far, though? I don't trust Hibiki and Ryo alone..." she admitted. "I just...I really love those guys and I don't want them getting hurt, so..."  
He nodded. "Of course," he said. "I guess just around the lake, then. I'll set up a couple of traps, too." He started walking over to the north side of the woods next to the lake before turning around and waiting for Makoto.

Makoto chased after Cody, trotting behind him like a lost puppy. Something moved in the undergrowth a few feet away and she lifted a knife, preparing to kill it.  
A tall, slender boy with shaggy brown hair popped out from behind the undergrowth. "Food," he muttered. "I'm soooooo huuuungryyyy..."  
Makoto blinked. "Who are you?" she called, keeping the knife raised.  
"Kimochi," the boy answered. "But you can call me Bloof." He smiled. "Now I need to find food...I'd eat you but your chest is too tiny. It would be boring." He sighed.  
Makoto squeaked and covered her chest. "L-leave me alone...!"  
"Gladly." Kimochi, or rather Bloof, stood and wandered into the distance. "See you later~"  
Makoto sighed. "What's his problem? Whatever, let's keep moving..."

Cody rolled his eyes. "Keep an eye out for him, he might come back. And watch for more like him." he said.

**xXxXx**

Ryo and Hibiki were having a staring contest. Ryo blinked.  
"Ha! That means I get the first bite o' food!" Hibiki laughed.  
"Hibiki-san, they'll probably catch meat..."  
"...I'll have the first bite o' vegetarian food!"

**xXxXx**

After a few minutes, Cody spotted something. "Ssh. I see something." he said to Makoto. He slowly crept forward with his bow raised. A small pheasant-like thing popped out from a bush. It looked at Cody and then walked back into the bushes. But before it could, Cody fired an arrow and pierced it's neck, killing it instantly.

"Bam. Breakfast is served, " he muttered. "Should we find something... Vegetarian for Hibiki? And I'm gonna get another one of these." he said, holding up the bird.

"Definitely," Makoto told him. "Hibiki would never eat an animal. Hn...do you know which plants are edible? I didn't have any time to learn."

He nodded. "I had a small amount of time to learn some edible plants." he said. He looked around and pulled a leaf off of a tree, twirled it around in his hand, and picked a few more. He held them up to Makoto. "These are one of the few that are edible and not poisonous." he said, putting them carefully in his pocket.

Makoto smiled. "Good. Let's get these back to Hibiki and Ryo. They're waiting."  
"Alright. Let's go." he said, taking Makoto's hand, smiling, and walking back to their ice fort.

Makoto giggled and clutched Cody's hand. When they reached the ice fort, Hibiki and Ryo were wrestling.  
"See, like that, li'l buddy! If ya throw your arm around your opponent's head, they can't...oh, hey, welcome back, yo!"  
"Ooow! H-Hibiki-san, you're really hurting me...!"  
"I was just teachin' this li'l guy how to fight."  
"HIBIKI-SAAAN~~!"  
"Sorry."  
Makoto facepalmed.  
Cody laughed. "At least they're not trying to kill each other," he said to Makoto. "Anyways," he said to the others. "I brought back some food. And I also got Hibiki some stuff. We might need to boil it, but oh well. I also found edible berries." he said, handing the leaves and the berries to Hibiki. He stood up. "I don't really think we should make a fire in here, so we should go out."  
Hibiki excitedly grabbed the vegetarian food and went to go eat it.  
Makoto and Ryo roasted their meat.

Everyone ate and was happy.

**xXxXx**

"Hey! Hey Karasu! Yo, wake up!"

Karasu muttered something about giant machine guns and rolled over.

Shuri tried again. "Yo! Wake up, dude! Tell me how you're feeling!"

"Last night I threw up for two hours straight."

"Cool. How are you feeling?"

"My arm has been bleeding all night."

"No one cares! Tell me how you're feeling!"

Karasu rolled to face her. "I can't tell. On the one hand, the poison seems to be out of my body, but on the other hand, so is almost everything else."

Shuri laughed. "Funny. Well, if the poison is gone, I think we can make up the rest," she remarked.

"I suppose," Karasu sighed. "I'm tired."

"That makes sense," Shuri murmured. "It's OK. You can just rest."

Karasu nodded and smiled. "Take care of the group, OK?"

"Sure~"

Hibiki examined the empty bottle of spider venom antidote. "There's a warning on it. 'Overdose may cause extreme nausea...'"  
"Check," Karasu called.  
"'...excessive bleeding...'"  
"Check."  
"'...and rashes.'"  
Karasu looked down at a red spot of skin on his left arm and blinked. "Check." He reached over to scratch it, then realized what a bad idea it was to scratch your rashes and rubbed it instead.  
Hibiki shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Shuri, look what you did. You caused side effects," he sighed.  
"So?" Shuri laughed. "At least the poison is gone so now he won't die!"  
Hibiki shrugged. "I guess. Hey, what's for breakfast?"

**xXxXx**

Hawkfrost yawned, stretched and got up. He saw that Legolas had already woken up and gone hunting, and was now cooking a rabbit. "When did you catch that?" he asked. Legolas looked up.

"An hour or so ago, why?" he answered.

"Never mind," Hawkfrost said, getting up. "I'm going to go patrol the area. Be back in a little bit." He hopped out of the tree, which was a fifteen foot drop. He stood up, dusted himself off, and started walking.

**xXxXx**

Elizabeth sat up after yawning. _What a night._ she thought. "Hey Amber, I'm going hunting. I'll be back in a few minutes." she whispered to Amber, who was still sleeping. She grunted and rolled over while Elizabeth climbed out of the hollow and started walking. "I set a few traps over there. I should go check them to see if I caught anything or anyone." she muttered to herself. Then she heard a twig snapping somewhere behind her and she whirled around, pulling out her sword.

"Who's there?" she called. No answer. "I said, who's there?" she yelled again. She heard a muttering that sounded like someone cursing.

"Ok, fine. I'm over here." said the voice. She walked over to where the voice was.

"What the- Hawkfrost?" she said, lowering her sword.

He nodded. "You're in my territory." he growled.

"My tree is right over there. Oops," Elizabeth said, realizing that she had given away her camp.

"Never mind. I've been wanting to find you. I want you to join my alliance." he said.

Elizabeth stared at him for a few minutes. "Fine. I'll get Amber." she muttered after a while, and then turned around and walked back towards her tree.

"I'll stay right here." she heard Hawkfrost call to her.

Hawkfrost smiled. "She's cute," he muttered, looking around. Finally, she came walking back with the light-brown haired girl. "So you're Amber, I'm guessing." he asked. She nodded.

"Where are we going?" asked Elizabeth.

"Back to my camp. I have two of the three Middle Earth tributes there." Hawkfrost answered. Elizabeth looked at Amber. She nodded.

"Ok then, let's go." said Elizabeth, and began walking with Hawkfrost.

Hawkfrost, Elizabeth, and Amber eventually made it back to Hawkfrost's tree, where they found Frodo halfway up a tree and Legolas trying to get him down. Hawkfrost sighed.

"I'll get him down..." he muttered, walking over to the tree. Amber giggled. A few minutes later, he finally got Frodo down from the tree.

"Um... Thanks..." Frodo muttered.

"No problem. And how did you get up there in the first place?" Hawkfrost asked.

"It's a long story." said Legolas.

Hawkfrost nodded and climbed up the tree were they were camping in. "Come on up, guys!" he called down. Elizabeth went first, then Amber, then Frodo, and then Legolas. When they got up, Hawkfrost was cooking a pheasant.

"That smells good," said Legolas. He pulled something out from his backpack. "I have some Lembas bread, if anyone wants some."

Frodo groaned. "Not Lembas breeeead!"

"I didn't say you had to eat it."

"Oh."

After they were done eating, Hawkfrost climbed down the tree with Legolas. "We're going hunting. Be back in a few minutes!" he called up the tree.

Elizabeth turned to Frodo. "I guess we don't have to kill each other then, hm?" she asked him.

Frodo nodded. "I wish I had my sword with me..."

"Your sword is right next to you."

"No, my other sword back at the Shire."

"Oh, ok."

Frodo stood up and rummaged through his backpack and pulled out an apple.

"We just ate," Elizabeth stated.

"... I guess you don't understand yet. Us Hobbits have at least seven meals a day, unlike humans, who only have three or occasionally four." Frodo said.

Elizabeth nodded. "That's a lot." she said. He nodded and took a bite of the apple, turning away.

Hawkfrost and Legolas climbed back up the tree after an hour. Hawkfrost smiled and held up some kind of pig.

Elizabeth cracked her knuckles. "Where'd you find that at?" she asked.

Hawkfrost opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Legolas. "Up near the forest about a half hour away from here. It took five minutes to track it down and another five minutes to kill it." Legolas said.

"Then that means it took you twenty minutes to get here. Ten minutes left." said Amber.

Hawkfrost nodded. "We were chased by a pack of these." he said, nodding his head at the boar.

"Oh, ok. Anyways, let's save it for dinner." Elizabeth said. Legolas nodded, took it from Hawkfrost, and set it in the corner and covered it with leaves and twigs.

**xXxXx**

Randall wandered around a small clearing for a few minutes before sitting down and drawing in the dirt with a stick.

**xXxXx**

Yoh yawned and looked over at Touma, sleeping against the wall with his arm tucked under his head. She looked over at the darkness of the cave, the darkness she knew housed that creature they had met the first day. Upon seeing nothing but darkness, meaning the creature was probably either asleep or hunting in the far back of the cave, she decided it would be safe to lay back down for a while. She was careful to always keep one eye open.

Gollum's voice sounded from the back of the cave, along with the sound of splashing water. "The rocken pool is nice and cool, so juicy sweeeeet! Our only wish, to catch a fish, so juicy sweeeeet!" The sounds of something slapping against a rock was heard, and then a slight scream, and then more slapping. Then the crunching of what was now known as a fish was heard.

Yoh drew in a deep breath through her nose and sighed. "Fish. It's eating fish. Should I try to go get some?"  
"If you think you can without getting eaten," Touma muttered, sitting up.  
"Then I'll try it." Yoh stood, smiled down at Touma, and grabbed her katana before going into the darkness to try to find the pool of water Gollum sang about.

Gollum looked up. "What was that, precious? I don't know, check it out, you fool. You do it. No, you do it! Fine..." He slowly crept up from the rock he was on. He scampered to a rock above Yoh, who was facing the other direction. "What are you doing, precious?" he asked her.

Yoh gasped and whirled around, gripping her katana. When she realized it seemed to be the friendly Gollum and not the one that wanted to eat her, she relaxed. "I just wanted to see if I could fish in your pool," she began, "since I heard you singing and we're a little hungry. If you don't want me here, I'll go back. No trouble."

Gollum blinked and then turned around, starting a conversation with himself, turning his head whenever he switched personalities. "I told you not to sings!" he turned his head. "It wasn't my fault, precious. We sing every time we fish!" He turned his head again. "Well now there's a..." He looked at Yoh. "A... Human wanting to fishses at our pool because of you!" He made a small coughing sound, "Gollum. Gollum." He turned back around, in the "friendly" personality. "Yes, yes, come on, this ways!" he told Yoh, turning and scampering off towards the pools.

Yoh breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she said gratefully. "I won't take much. One fish should be enough. Is that alright?"  
Gollum, or as he was now, Smeagol, looked back at Yoh and nodded. "Yes!" Then his other side came out. "No! You fool, she will takes all of them! No she won't! Yes she wills! Shut up! No! ...Fine, she can come... Yay! Sorry about him Gollum, he's unhappy today." he said to Yoh.

Yoh smiled. "Thank you." She wandered over to the pool and attempted to catch fish, which didn't really work since she couldn't see very well. She kept trying.

Smeagol watched Yoh intently, but from a distance, and having an argument with his other self.

Yoh finally managed to get a fish. She smiled and picked up the flopping creature by the tail. "I'll be going now," she announced. "Thank you." She dipped her head to Smeagol-Gollum and returned to Touma, who had already made a fire. "Sorry it took a while. I couldn't see."  
"It's fine," Touma insisted. "Let's eat."  
"Ration it out," Yoh warned. "We have to try to keep our food as long as possible. I can go a few days without any if I have to."  
"Fine."

Smeagol smiled and continued his argument.

A few minutes passe before Yoh finished her portion of the fish and buried the creature in a small hole she'd dug in the ice to keep it cool and safe from predators. "Well, that should keep us going for a few more days," she announced to Touma, who was still munching on his fish.  
"Meh," he uttered.  
"...well, bye. I'm going to go hunting a bit."  
"Meh."

After about an hour, Yoh returned to the cave holding something that looked like a deer mixed with a rabbit.  
"I don't know what this is, but I'm pretty sure it's edible," she announced, dropping the animal beside Touma.

"Looks sorta like a jackalope," he pointed out. Yoh shrugged.  
"I suppose." She took a seat and began digging a bigger hole to store the animal in while Touma counted the number of stalactites on the ceiling, purely out of boredom.

**xXxXx**

Blue eyes gleamed in the window, watching the "Career" group eat a pig-like animal in their little hut. Any time one of the alliance members looked over in her direction, Makombie quickly ducked to avoid getting seen.  
Soon after they had descended in the arena, Bloof had run after some meat and Makombie had gone after Karasu, identified only by the scent she could now smell.  
It was time to settle the score.

Karasu shifted and looked out towards the window. "I swear something is watching us."  
"Who cares?" Shuri laughed. "If something is there I'll kill it. M'kay? M'kay."  
Karasu frowned and stood. "I'm going to check it out," he announced. He walked outside and slowly peeked around the edge of the cottage.  
The sight that met his eyes was a gray-skinned, naked, humanoid creature that looked surprisingly similar to Makoto. He raised an eyebrow and watched it stare into the window. It didn't seem to notice him.  
"Makoto?" he called.

The creature whirled towards him and gasped. Karasu gasped back, surprised by the blue eyes that met his. "It is you! What happened? I thought you were with that Cody kid..." Karasu trailed off. The creature had run off into the woods, leaving him alone. He blinked, sighed, and returned inside. There would be time to find Makoto later.

**xXxXx**

Shelob wandered around the forest with Maria walking by her side. "Why can't we climb up in the trees and spot something?" Maria asked. Shelob looked at her. "It would be too predictable. But you have a point..." she said. She looked up. "Get on my back, I'm going to climb one." Maria obediently climbed onto the giant spiders back, and Shelob began to climb one of the trees.

Maria and Shelob reached the top of the tree. "Look how far up we are." said Maria. Shelob looked down, if that was possible for a spider.

"I've been higher," she grunted. "Can you see anything?"

Maria shook her head. "Nope. But I see a small cabin about a two hours journey away." she said.

"Well that's no help. I can make my own caverns." she muttered.

**xXxXx**

"I'm telling you it was real!"  
Shuri chuckled. "You're delusional. It must be because of the poison or whatever. Why on Earth would Makoto be here? And _naked_, at that," she laughed.  
Karasu frowned. "I swear it was her. She had the same eyes and everything."  
"Lots of people have blue eyes, Karasu," Hibiki sighed. "It was probably just some trick of the Gamemakers."  
Karasu growled slightly. "No one else has blue eyes like hers. They're...they're special. Beautiful. I swear it was her."  
"Then go ahead and search for your dream girl after we eat," Shuri ordered. "Until then, EAT."


End file.
